Is Black Adam really “the Dirty Harry of superheroes?” If you ask director Jaume Collet-Serra, that might be the case.
In an interview with Variety, Collet-Serra opened up about working with Dwayne Johnson on two films in a row. Johnson stars in 2021’s Jungle Cruise and re-teams with the filmmaker for next year’s Black Adam. When mentioning the superhero film, the director compares Dwayne Johnson’s role to an iconic film character.
“Having just done a romantic adventure comedy where he’s very light, I was really attracted to getting the dark version of Dwayne,” said Collet-Serra. “Basically, turning him into Clint Eastwood in a Western. I was like, ‘You’re like the Dirty Harry of superheroes.’”
“I didn’t have to convince people that I was right for this one in the same way that I did for Jungle Cruise,” the director continued. “It’s like things I’ve done with Liam [Neeson], that tough-guy antihero who has a heart. The world is not black and white. The world is in gray areas, so you need these people that are riding that gray area.”
Black Adam wrapped filming earlier this month and is set for release on July 29th, 2022.
Black Adam is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise) and sees Dwayne Johnson starring alongside Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz and Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer, Bodhi Sabongui and Uli Latukefu in as-yet-unrevealed roles.