(Reuters) — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in DC Comics’ antihero movie Black Adam, which he calls a passion project.
“This is perfect for me,” Johnson told Reuters. Despite the “Red Notice” actor starring in a string of box office hits, he was apprehensive about releasing the film as it is a departure from his past roles.
He explained, “Everything I’ve been lucky enough to have in my career, from wrestling to movies and everything in between, has led to this. Everything has led to this and this character.”
The character Black Adam first appeared in a 1945 Fawcett comic book. Since the 1970s, the character has been acquired by DC Comics, first as a supervillain and then as a superhero.
In the film, Black Adam, an ancient hero in the fictional country of Kandak, is released from imprisonment after 5,000 years and is not pleased with such a rude awakening.
“This means a lot to me because you get the shot of a lifetime. I wanted to do it all,” Johnson said. The wrestler-turned-actor also wants audiences to connect with the film in the same way Black connected with his Adam character as a child.
He said, “When I saw the first ‘Black Adam’ comic, that superhero, that supervillain, had brown skin and was as powerful as Superman. ‘Oh, that’s me. That Black Adam.’ Cultures around the world that say, “I am who I am.” “
His fellow cast members include Sarah Shahi as Isis, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.
Produced by New Line Cinema, a unit of AT&T Inc’s Warner Bros. Studios, “Black Adam” opens Friday.
