Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson -- actor, wrestler, guy with quote marks in his name -- has tweeted what appears to be confirmation that he will play the role of Black Adam -- presumably in a Shazam movie from Warner Bros. -- by telling his followers, "My honor to become.. #BlackAdam".

Rumors about Johnson joining the DC Cinematic Universe have circulated for a while, with initial speculation that he might appear in Batman V Superman -- perhaps as Lex Luthor. In August, Johnson confirmed that he was in talks to take on a DC role, and tweeted a picture of Shazam, Black Adam, and Superman. He didn't specify which role he was up for, but many fans noted his resemblance to the villain Black Adam.


Created by Otto Binder and C.C. Beck in 1945, Black Adam is one of comics' earliest "dark mirror" villains, representing a corrupted reflection of the hero's ideals. Like Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel (now called Shazam), he was granted awesome powers by a wizard -- but unlike the good Captain he was corrupted and turned to evil.

The character hails from Ancient Egypt, while Johnson is of a mixed Samoan and African-American background. Johnson is one of the highest profile non-white actors in Hollywood, so it's perhaps a shame that he should join the world of on-screen superheroes as a villain rather than as a hero. However, it's possible Johnson himself chose to play Black Adam over Shazam, preferring a juicy villain role, and the character has been presented as an anti-hero at times.

Johnson tends to dominate any movie he's in, so a Warner Bros Shazam movie would likely to be just as much a Black Adam movie with Johnson as its true star. It's hard to imagine the movie makers casting any actor as big as Johnson to star opposite him as the hero. As Shazam/Captain Marvel is actually a little kid, Billy Batson, who transforms into a superhuman adult champion, we might speculate that a kid will be cast as both Batson and Shazam with someone -- maybe Johnson? -- providing motion capture for a CGI Shazam. But that's just a wild and crazy theory.

The Shazam movie is expected to get a 2016 release date, hot on the heels of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice -- but at this point there's no actual confirmation that a Shazam movie is happening. Maybe Johnson is playing Black Adam in Batman V Superman V Black Adam: Lunch of Justice?

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