Colman Domingo in ‘Dead Man’s Wire.’ Photo: Row K Entertainment.
The thriller, which has seen script work from Michael Mohan, Marc Guggenheim, and most recently Carly Wray, concerns a high-powered D.C. couple who draw a young, ambitious woman into a dangerous world of sex, power and murder.
Netflix has yet to fully announce when the new thriller will hit its servers, but we’d imagine it’ll be at some time in 2027.
Kerry Washington speaks onstage during Netflix TUDUM 2025: The Live Event at The Kia Forum on May 31, 2025 in Inglewood, California. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Netflix.
Okwui Okpokwasili as the Woman in ‘The Woman in the Yard’, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘The Woman in the Yard’ was held back from critics until literally the night it started playing in theaters, which is usually a sign that a film is so bad that the movie studio doesn’t want any reviews going up before its release that could dampen the box office. Sometimes the studio’s fear is warranted, but at other times the reticence is baffling.
The new horror film from Blumhouse and Universal, ‘The Woman in the Yard,’ falls somewhere in between: this is a handsomely mounted and often beautifully shot movie from director Jaume Collet-Serra, whose recent output has included both a fun if silly action flick (‘Carry-On’) and a turgid superhero dud (‘Black Adam’). Collet-Serra’s early films were horror titles, including the bonkers ‘Orphan,’ and here he wrings some decidedly chilly atmosphere from the initial premise and good performances by a cast led by Danielle Deadwyler (‘The Piano Lesson’). But ‘The Woman in the Yard’ rapidly falls apart in its second half, losing coherence and sense while also trying to tell a story about sorrow and crisis. In trying to go for both genre shocks and emotional depth, it succeeds at neither.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Director Jaume Collet-Serra and Danielle Deadwyler on the set of ‘The Woman in the Yard’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler) is deep in the throes of grief, guilt, and depression following the death of her husband David (Russell Hornsby, seen in flashbacks) in a car accident that also left Ramona on crutches with a broken leg. The rural farmhouse she and David bought is falling into disrepair; Ramona hasn’t paid the electric bill so the power is out, and her teen son Taylor (Peyton Jackson) has to fire up the stove with a lighter to cook breakfast (eggs and Doritos) for his little sister Annie (Estella Kahiha) before what little food they have spoils.
Things take a darker turn when a woman (Okwui Okpokwasili), wearing a black veil and shroud-like garments, inexplicably shows up seated in a chair in their front yard. When Ramona goes outside to ask who she is, the woman replies with a question of her own: “How did I get here?” she asks dazedly. Although she refuses to identify herself or lift her veil at first, she eventually has an ominous warning for Ramona: “Today is the day,” she intones. “You called and I came.”
Tensions within the house rise as the woman seemingly draws closer, while the family dog goes missing and the inhabitants of their little chicken coop meet a grisly fate. Taylor wants to confront the woman himself, or short of that, drive to a neighbor’s house, but the car won’t start. (Why people in horror films often think that buying an isolated house with no one else around is a good idea, especially when they have kids who would maybe like to play with other local kids, always baffles us.) And then the woman gets even closer and the house itself comes under siege from her spectral presence.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra on the set of ‘The Woman in the Yard’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Collet-Serra gets his best material out of the opening scenes of the movie, aided by strong performances from Deadwyler and the kids as a family falling apart at the seams. There’s a thick layer of dread in the air once the woman appears, and her dark presence against the bright sky and vast field outside the house is both jarring and surreal, reminiscent of similar tableaux in films like ‘The Innocents’ and ‘Let’s Scare Jessica to Death.’
But this isn’t enough material to sustain even this movie’s relatively brief (88 minutes with credits) running time. What might work on paper as a ghostly short story gets stretched to the breaking point in the second half, with Collet-Serra deploying a number of standard shocks as the script comes completely unglued. What exactly is happening? It seems pretty clear that the woman is either a supernatural or psychological manifestation of Ramona’s anguished state of mind. But if this is all psychological, then why can the kids see the woman? Why does poltergeist activity start occurring in the house?
It eventually comes around – sort of – to some revelations that lay out what might be really happening, but even though Collet-Serra and Stefanak reach for some profundity, the film has become too confused with what’s real and what isn’t to make the impact they’re aiming for. Horror doesn’t always have to be explained or knowable – that’s often what makes it frightening – but there does have to be some internal logic. ‘The Woman in the Yard’ dispenses with that. Some might call the film ambiguous; we’ll just call it incoherent.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Taylor (Peyton Jackson), Annie (Estella Kahiha) and Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler) in ‘The Woman in the Yard’, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. Photo: Universal Pictures.
As with many horror movies made for a price these days, there are just five actors in ‘The Woman in the Yard.’ We never see anyone else or even get a sense of where this family is living. We know that Ramona is an artist who has stopped painting out of grief, but as is often the case in modern horror movies, where everything stems out of trauma, she is solely defined by her pain. Danielle Deadwyler does as good a job as she can with such thin character development, making the depths of her sadness and grief palpable and intense, even through her physicality; but that’s the whole of her being. There’s one scene later on that adds a new wrinkle to what she’s going through, but it too lands as more confusing than anything else.
Peyton Jackson and Estella Kihara are also quite good as the kids, the latter cute as a button and painfully sympathetic as she’s caught in the crossfire between her headstrong brother and short-fused mom. Jackson effectively catches the conflict in Taylor between being a rebellious teen and wanting to step up as the man of the house. And then there’s Okwui Okpokwasili as the woman, a strangely conceived role that she manages to infuse with some gravitas and existential menace before the story turns her into a more standard monster.
Final Thoughts
Danielle Deadwyler as Ramona in ‘The Woman in the Yard’, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. Photo: Universal Pictures.
As we stated earlier, ‘The Woman in the Yard’ does benefit from some of the early style that Collet-Serra gives it, supported by the cast, Lorne Balfe’s stirring score, and some lovely cinematography from Pawel Pogorzelski. It’s a nice switch to see a horror film unfold in bright sunlight (although this movie eventually goes dark too) with some striking imagery. But the movie’s rather languid pace and reliance on atmosphere and psychological pressure is at odds with the rapid-fire, mish-mash editing and shock-horror jolts of the film’s third act.
It almost feels like ‘The Woman in the Yard’ is fighting with itself and losing its grip as it tries to extend this material into a feature-length story. By the time it was over, as compelling as it starts out, we were ready to get outside ourselves.
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What is the plot of ‘The Woman in the Yard’?
A grieving, deeply depressed widow (Danielle Deadwyler) and her two children (Peyton Jackson and Estella Kahiha) wake up one morning in their isolated farmhouse to discover a mysterious veiled woman dressed in black shrouds sitting in their front yard and issuing a warning: “Today is the day.”
Who is in the cast of ‘The Woman in the Yard’?
Danielle Deadwyler as Ramona
Okwui Okpokwasili as The Woman
Russell Hornsby as David
Peyton Jackson as Taylor
Estella Kahiha as Annie
‘The Woman in the Yard’ opens in theaters on March 28th.
Landing on Netflix on December 13th, ‘Carry-On’ will probably make most people compare it to festive action classic ‘Die Hard.’ Which seems a little unfair given the latter film’s high watermark status in the action genre, but when you put an average joe character up against scheming criminals at Christmas, the comparisons are inevitable.
Still, ‘Carry-On,’ while it truly can’t compare to the towering 1988 benchmark, it doesn’t embarrass itself in the genre, providing a solid amount of entertainment partly thanks to good performances from its leads.
The ‘Die Hard’ comparisons, while tough for any movie to live up to, are at least slightly short-circuited by some decent worldbuilding going on here. Taron Egerton’s Ethan Kopek isn’t even at the level of John McClane, who was at least an NYPD officer. Kopek instead is more of a man in search of his place in life; while he’s happily in a relationship, his TSA job isn’t exactly the most fulfilling purpose, but he’s largely coasting.
It’s a worthwhile place from which to start a main character in a movie such as this –– because you have something to build from. You know he’s going to step up to the task at hand when the moment calls for it, but he’s not a superhero or a man (usually Liam Neeson in Jaume Collet-Serra’s other movies) with a particular set of skills. Unless you count running (foreshadowed with talk of Kopek’s high school track star status).
Likewise, Jason Bateman is an interesting choice to play the primary antagonist as the man known only as “Traveler” is more of a tactical thinker than an all-action villain. And the action element is largely effective, even if one key scene appears to borrow heavily from ‘Toy Story 2.’
The script for the movie originated with a script by T.J. Fixman (who has mostly written video games) and has been through some polishing by Michael Green (a scriptwriting veteran whose credits include the Kenneth Branagh‘s Poirot films, ‘Logan’ and ‘Jungle Cruise’).
As a result, it feels mostly lean and taught, and the characters are built in such a way as they work for this kind of movie. It’s far from a perfect screenplay, but it does nimbly skirt around some of the more egregious cliches and tropes.
It also stays mostly grounded (at least until the action shifts to a plane) and believable and finds something interesting for most of the characters to do.
Collet-Serra, meanwhile, knows his way around an action movie, and while he’s certainly pumped out some generic titles in his time, this feels sturdier and more energetic that some of his other efforts. And that’s despite it largely taking place in one location (albeit an airport that offers chances for different rooms).
If there’s one big issue with the movie, it’s a scene where Danielle Deadwyler’s detective clashes with Logan Marshall-Green’s character (we won’t reveal it so as to avoid spoilers) in a speeding car. It’s an ambitious attempt to have the actors do a lot of the work themselves as opposed to cutting around stunt people. Yet for all its kinetic energy, it suffers from sometimes looking like the cut scene from a video game, draining the tension as you can’t help but chuckle at the weird visual. For a movie that is so focused on being real-world, it’s a misfire.
Performances
While Egerton and Bateman are the crux of the story, the script shares the character development love around the rest of the cast too.
As we mentioned above, Kopek is an unmoored young man, nervously happy about becoming a father with his girlfriend Nora. He’s coasting through his job, but of course gets a chance to shine when he’s put in peril. Egerton has played some more flamboyant characters in his time, but he does solid work as Kopek, keeping him from feeling like a superhero. And his interactions with everyone around him are entirely believable.
He may never get a name, but Bateman does revel in an interesting character –– and it’s one that the actor plays well. He’s threatening but not so physically imposing as to be ridiculous. He’s also good at delivering the exposition that is naturally a part of a villain such as this.
As the dedicated LAPD detective who starts to dig into one aspect of the case, Deadwyler is similarly lumbered with some expositional dialogue but is also weaved effectively into the story later on. And she’s always convincing.
Playing off of Egerton for much of the early going, she’s eventually more than just his love interest, actually handed some agency as the plot moves forward. It also doesn’t hurt that Nora is in some ways more capable than Ethan is.
The reliable likes of Dean Norris (as Egerton’s grumpy TSA boss), Sinqua Walls (as one of his colleagues) all help to fill out the world of Kopek’s daily drudgery, while Bateman’s character is supported by the likes of Theo Rossi as his accomplice. It’s a solid ensemble for a movie such as this.
A solid action thriller with decent premise that aches in places to be ‘Die Hard’ but also does its own thing, ‘Carry-On’ might not exactly be in the first class of the genre, but it’s sitting comfortably in premium economy.
‘Carry-On’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the plot of ‘Carry-On’?
A young TSA agent (Taron Egerton) fights to outsmart a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) who blackmails him into letting a dangerous package slip onto a Christmas Eve flight.
Yet as these things always seem to do, the project has since evolved back into more of a reboot, with Stallone dropping out (hopefully not down a giant cliff) and the storyline switching to characters played by Lily James and Pierce Brosnan.
And there have also been some changes behind the camera, too.
What’s the story of this new ‘Cliffhanger’?
Lily James on the set of ‘Cliffhanger’. Photo: Rocket Science.
The first change beyond the stars for the movie is in the script, which is based on a story by Ana Lily Amirpour (who was involved with the film back in another incarnation in 2019). Variety has heard it described as a father-daughter take on ‘Die Hard.’
Brosnan will play seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper, who operates a luxury chalet in the Dolomites with daughter Sydney.
During a weekend trip with a billionaire’s son, they are targeted by a gang of kidnappers. Ray’s other daughter Naomi (James), still haunted by a past climbing accident, witnesses the attack and escapes. To save her family, she must confront her fears and fight for survival.
While Ric Roman Waugh was aboard to direct the film when Sly was still aboard, the reins have now passed to ‘Non-Stop’s Jaume Collet-Serra, with the producing team of Rocket Science still aboard after all these different iterations.
Collet-Serra is busy rolling cameras on the movie now in Austria and offered up this statement:
“Shooting our movie on location in the Dolomites using large format cameras was imperative for us to show the scope and scale of the story we’re telling. We’re going to bring the audience a truly thrilling and visceral, premium theatrical experience. Lily in particular has gone above and beyond for the role, putting in real training and learning to climb. Her dedication has allowed us to capture some incredible shots we couldn’t have achieved otherwise, and the whole crew is blown away by her commitment.”
When will the new ‘Cliffhanger’ dangle into theaters?
Rocket Science will be offering domestic distribution rights to the movie, with CAA Media selling international.
Which is a longwinded way of saying that there is no studio aboard yet, so we’ll have to wait for any release date details. But the fact remains that the movie shooting at all is a big step forward.
(L to R) Lily James and Richard Madden in ‘Cinderella’. Photo: Walt Disney Studios.
Jaume Collet-Serra is on to direct a new action thriller called ‘Kate Warne’.
Emily Blunt is considering starring in the film as the title character, with Dwayne Johnson producing.
The script has been re-written but will still have to wait until the actors’ strike is over.
It looks like we have a ‘Jungle Cruise’ reunion in the works. No, the sequel has not chugged forward much given the dual strikes (though you can bet Disney will be looking to move this one along now that at least the writers’ action is over).
Instead, ‘Cruise’ director Jaume Collet-Serra is boarding the in-development detective thriller ‘Kate Warne’, which is being produced by Dwayne Johnson (who, of course, starred in the Disney ride adaptation).
And the ‘Jungle’ connections continue as Emily Blunt has been considering starring in this one for a couple of years now –– she was first mentioned as circling back in 2021 –– but, as Deadline reminds us, the actors are still on strike, so she has yet to make a formal acting deal.
She’ll be back to negotiating to star when the industrial action is over, but there is no sign of that just yet. Even if she doesn’t end up in the main role, she’s also a producer on the film, alongside Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions.
The Amazon-owned MGM is hoping that with Collet-Serra’s attachment, it’ll move forward once anything can shoot.
What’s the story of ‘Kate Warne’?
Emily Blunt in ‘The English’ which premieres November 11th on Prime Video.
‘Kate Warne’ is described as a propulsive action adventure built around Warne, a real life female Sherlock Holmes in a male dominated industry whose singular sleuthing skills paved the way for future women in law enforcement and forever changed how detective work was done.
Gustin Nash wrote the first draft of the script, but it has since seen a re-write (before the strike) with ‘Godmothered’s Melissa Stack taking over screenplay duties.
This feels more in Collet-Serra’s wheelhouse –– he’s been known for the likes of Liam Neeson thrillers ‘Non-Stop’, and ‘The Commuter’, while he last made ‘Black Adam’ with Johnson in the title role –– than even ‘Jungle Cruise’ though he’s proved to be adaptable through his career so far.
He’s also been behind movies such as horror pic ‘Orphan’ and shark thriller ‘The Shallows’.
Next up for the director is ‘Carry On’, which sees Taron Egerton as Ethan Kopek, a young TSA agent who is blackmailed by a mysterious traveler to allow a dangerous package through security and on to a Christmas Day flight.
But that will all change on October 21st when ‘Black Adam’ which stars Dwayne Johnson and was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (‘Jungle Cruise’) hits theaters. The new movie brilliantly adapts the source material without ever watering down the brutality of the character and absolutely elevates the DCEU in the process.
In the new movie, Johnson plays Teth-Adam, a slave from the ancient city of Kahndaq who is given powers by the Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou reprising his role from ‘Shazam!’) transforming him into the anti-hero Black Adam. But after saving his people he is imprisoned for five thousand years and is finally released in present day by university professor and Kahndaq resistance fighter Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi).
Black Adam soon attracts the attention of U.S. Government Agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who dispatches the Justice Society of America to take Black Adam down before he becomes a threat. But once Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) arrive in Kahndaq, Adam does not take well to their warning.
But when the leader of a terrorist organization known as Intergang seizes control of the ancient demon Sabbac, Adrianna must convince Black Adam and the Justice Society to put their differences aside and fight together as a team to save the world.
It was only a matter of time before Dwayne Johnson starred in a live-action super hero movie, and I’m sure he has been offered other super hero roles to play over the years. In fact, rumor is he was given the choice between playing Shazam or Black Adam and chose the latter. That always seemed like an odd choice to me as Black Adam is Shazam’s archenemy in the comics, and Johnson is such a huge star and likable person, you’d think he’d want to play the hero?
My biggest fear was that because Johnson was cast in the role, Black Adam would be made into a more heroic character, like we’ve seen with the ‘Venom’ movies. However, as DC Comics fans know, there was a brief arc in the late 90s and early 2000s where Black Adam did become a hero and joined the Justice Society. Even very recently in the comics, he had become good again and joined the ranks of the Justice League, so at least the idea of making him an anti-hero is not too far off from the source material.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra skillfully pulls off the balancing act of having Black Adam be both the hero and villain at the same time. Adam’s origin story unfolds mysteriously throughout the film in flashbacks allowing the audience to learn about him as the other characters do. He is depicted as violent and brutal, but he also believes in justice and is willing to do anything to protect those that he loves, just like in the comics.
While Johnson plays the character more of a misguided hero than the true villain he is in the comics, the actor gives one of his best performances and is truly the only actor alive that could have pulled off this role physically. Just one look at him and you know he is a real threat for the Justice Society.
Johnson’s performance reminded me of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s work in ‘The Terminator’ and ‘T2.’ Say what you will about Arnold’s acting abilities, but he was born to play that robot, and did so much with very little movement. Johnson does the same thing, communicating his emotions with very little movement or dialogue.
The movie also reinforces the idea that the DCEU is still alive and well. While it’s no longer the dark “Snyderverse” that director Zach Snyder created with his trilogy (‘Man of Steel,’ ‘Batman v Superman,’ ‘Justice League’), those characters and events still exist. One of the early criticisms I’ve heard about the movie is that Collet-Serra tries too hard to recreate Snyder’s signature slow-motion fight scenes, and I actually didn’t see it that way.
Yes, Collet-Serra does use slow-motion quite a bit, but I would compare it more to the use of slow-motion in the Quicksilver scenes from ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’ The slow-motion is not used for arbitrary reasons, but rather to highlight how fast Black Adam is moving, Dr. Fate’s magic, or how powerful Cyclone’s tornados are. I liked the use of slow-motion and thought it added to the action rather than distracting. Kudos to the editing team of John Lee and Michael L. Sale, who make all the action sequences pop.
The Justice Society is a great added attraction for DC fans but having them work for Amanda Waller felt a bit off. We last saw her own team stage a rebellion against her in ‘The Suicide Squad’ and it doesn’t make a lot of sense that the JSA is now taking orders from her, but it doesn’t really affect the plot, although sending Task Force-X, especially after the events of ‘Peacemaker,’ would have made more sense.
Aldis Hodge is very strong as Hawkman and brings the stubbornness of the character from the comics. Pierce Brosnan was also a wonderful casting choice and has the right level of likability and gravitas for the role. Quintessa Swindell is a nice addition as Cyclone, but much of her backstory seemed cut from the film and unfortunately, she did not have a lot to do. The same could be said for Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, who is probably the weakest link in the cast, and isn’t given enough screen time to make an impact.
Rounding out the cast is also a very good performance from Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz, who is the only person that can truly get through to Black Adam. The actress has very good chemistry with Johnson, and perhaps will be back in sequels as her comic book super hero alter-ego, Isis.
I will say that there is a mid-credit scene that you will not want to miss which welcomes back a former DCEU actor and character. I don’t want to give it away, even though Johnson basically has while promoting the movie, but I will say that it promises an epic fight in the future of the franchise that is very exciting for DC fans.
At the end of the day, ‘Black Adam’ pulls it off and delivers what it promised, a no-holds-barred approach to the popular DC character. While tweaking with the tone at times, the movie does stay true to the source material, and features a commanding star-turn from Dwayne Johnson. Watch out Marvel … DC is back!
The new movies stars Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam, an anti-hero from the ancient city of Kahndaq who awakens in present day after five thousand years of imprisonment.
He soon draws the attention of the Justice Society of America including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan) and must team-up with them in order to stop a threat more powerful than Adam himself.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Dwayne Johnson in-person to talk about his work on ‘Black Adam,’ why fans should be excited for the movie, and why Black Adam was the right super hero for him to play.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo, Quintessa Swindell, Sarah Shahi, Mohammed Amer.
Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to your fans and DC Comics fans to get them pumped-up and ready to see this movie?
Dwayne Johnson: Oh, get ready because we are going to deliver something I think that you are already anticipating. I think right now they are hearing rumblings that the movie is pretty good.
They’re hearing rumblings about some other things that might be happening in the movie. They’re hearing rumblings about maybe somebody is joining us in this movie. They’re hearing a lot of rumblings.
So, I would say get your popcorn, get to the theater, the biggest, most immersive theater you can, but also know this because we as actors, we sell our movies. Get to the movies, you got to see it on the biggest screen.
I put all I had into this movie, and this has been a 10 plus year push, fight and journey to get it to this place where we could take something that I love, and I love the DC universe. I like Marvel and all those guys are my buddies.
But I love DC and this opportunity that we have to expand the DC Universe, introduce five new beloved superheroes, or four and one anti-hero, it’s just a great opportunity. So, I hope that fans, when going to their theater, I hope they feel the passion and the fight that went into this in ‘Black Adam.’
MF: Finally, I know it took a long time for you to get this movie made, and I’m sure you have been offered other super heroes to play over the years. Why was Black Adam the right character for you to portray on screen?
DJ: Because he represented so many characteristics that I have. Now, what I mean by that because that’s a tough one for me to say, is just that I have reached a point in my life right now as I sit and talk to you where I’m confident in who I am.
No one can tell me, “Hey, you can’t be like that. You have to walk like this, talk like this. Don’t call yourself “The Rock.” You can’t talk about pro wrestling. You’re too big, go lose weight.” All this stuff that I heard when I first got to Hollywood.
So, I’m at a point now in my life where I feel so confident about my steps, and I feel so present with everyone I talk to, like you and anyone. And Black Adam is that way. He’s lived a life. He is confident. He steps with purpose and with passion, deep passion.
Also, he does have great empathy and he does care about people who he loves, like I do. Now, if you mess with him, that’s a problem. You mess with me, that’s a problem. I’ll handle it. I might smile a little bit before I handle it, but it’s a difference.
Dwayne Johnson stars as Black Adam in New Line Cinema’s action adventure ‘Black Adam.’
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With movie releases in a relatively quiet period following the end of summer, many are looking to Dwayne Johnson and ‘Black Adam’ for the next big shot of moviegoing business.
The Rock is headed back to our screens with his first DC movie, which will see him playing the titular vengeful anti-hero whose approach to justice butts heads with the more straightforward likes of Superman.
And, as with all things Dwayne Johnson, expect something on a big scale, as the new trailer suggests.
Created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, the character is one of the archenemies of Shazam (as played in his own movies by Zachary Levi) and the nemesis of the Shazam Family. Black Adam first appeared as a one-time villain for the first issue of Fawcett Comics’ ‘The Marvel Family’ comic book December 1945 (a reminder here that Shazam was once known as Captain Marvel, before Marvel had Carol Danvers out there).
Black Adam was revived as a recurring character after DC Comics first licensed and then acquired the Fawcett characters and began publishing Shazam Family stories under the title ‘Shazam!’ in the 1970s.
While Johnson was at one point going to play the character as a direct villain to Levi’s Shazam, that plan evolved to give him his own movie (not a bad idea when you have someone with the Rock’s audience appeal). And in keeping with how he’s evolved in the comics, the tone shifted more towards him being an antihero rather than a straight up bad guy.
Jaume Collet-Serra, who worked with Johnson on ‘Jungle Cruise’, is in the director’s chair here, while the script has seen drafts from Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani.
In the movie’s story, Johnson’s Teth Adam rose from being a slave, dying, being reborn a god and meting out his particular, powerful brand of justice in the society of Kahndaq 5,000 years ago. It didn’t end so well for him, after he’s betrayed and imprisoned.
But he returns to dispense some no-nonsense justice in the present day, something that will bring him into conflict with more straightforward heroes, including, in the film the Justice Society of America, including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo). And yes, that’s Viola Davis popping up as Amanda Waller.
This latest look at the movie is full of action and shows Johnson going for a grittier, more serious performance than his usual charm-filled work of late.
And yes, the JSA are certainly concerned about Adam’s power and behavior, looking to lock down the near godlike warrior. And they’ve plenty of tools to try to make that happen (including a jet taking off from an underground facility beneath a mansion that ‘X-Men’ fans will find very familiar, but does come from the JSA comics.
After a couple of release date shifts, ‘Black Adam’ is ready to rock into theaters on October 21st.
If you have Dwayne Johnson in your film, you bring Dwayne Johnson.
At a Comic-Con that has seen several talent dial in via video link because of filming duties or Covid concerns, the artist formerly known as The Rock was not going to miss the chance to make a big entrance at Hall H of the San Diego Comic-Con.
“I missed you guys so dang much, I can’t even tell you,” said Levi to an energized Hall H, taking in the first panel of the day, after a ‘Shazam!’ sizzle reel showed.
The superhero sequel continues the story of Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who, when he says the phrase “Shazam!” transforms into a grown superhero (Levi) with Superman-like powers.
At the end of the first film, Billy’s foster family also gained powers, and since then, the family has been working on fighting crime – though not always together.
They’ll need to unite, though, when a new menace in the shape of the Sisters of Atlas (Helen Mirren’s Hespera and Lucy Liu’s Kalypso) arrive on Earth none too happy that some “children” have the powers of the gods. Fight! Fight! Fight!
“We got this really cool look into all of the kids getting their super powers at the end of the first movie… We’ve all been flying around doing various missions trying to help the city of Philadelphia and the world at large,” Levi explains. “We’re all just trying to figure it out.”
“It adds for a really great interesting bedrock of reality that you can connect to as a human being because we’re super heroes but we’re human beings,” Levi added.
With Levi, director David F. Sandberg, Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Lucy Liu on stage, there’s also time for a video message from Helen Mirren (who plays one of the big villains) and Rachel Zegler.
Mirren was in typically fun form, jokingly explaining that the reason she isn’t there in person was because of a fight she got into when she attended as a fan in 2019 and someone cut the line. Well, not a fight… “he went down instantly!” Dame Helen, never change.
And that wasn’t all. “I absolutely loved playing Hespera,” she said. “She’s such a baddie and a bad ass. And, Zach, I had such a lovely time kicking the shit out of you!…Yay, pussy power!”
The panel continued with a mixture of fan questions and the usual dodges about cameos or the future. But asked if there will be a third movie? “Okay, fine, we’ll do another one,” Levi said. “If you guys go and see this one and you like it then there’s a good chance the bosses will want it.”
Finally, what about a crossover with ‘Black Adam’, whose title character in the books has a deep connection to Shazam? They’re not saying. ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ lands in theaters on December 21st.
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Talking of the superhero – or super-anti-hero, as he’s a powerful figure who fights for justice his way – played by Dwayne Johnson, he was next up.
And it being Johnson, he couldn’t just walk on stage. Instead, fog and lightning (the latter on screen) filled Hall H, and Johnson arrived flying, in costume.
“The DC Universe will never be the same again,” he intoned.
He was gone just as quickly, before the cast and director filed on stage. ‘Black Adam’ comes from ‘Jungle Cruise’s Jaume Collet-Serra and will feature a team new to the DC films, The Justice Society of America. That includes Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan).
Johnson was soon back on stage, dressed this time in more regular attire, and talking up his journey with the movie.
“The journey for Black Adam, it has been a long journey, fueled with passion, with commitment, with grit, Johnson said. “It’s been easily over 10 years. I’ve been working with Jaume for about five years now and so that’s when he came on board for this. The journey has been an incredible one. I love coming to Comic-Con. To be here in Hall H, representing a DC anti-hero is a dream come true. The dream, having been in the business for years now, I’d bring movies here and hope you guys would like them but this is a dream come true.”
Johnson and co. introduced a sizzle reel (which did not go online, though a new sneak peek can be seen below). The con reel revealed one heretofore unknown wrinkle: ‘Suicide Squad’s Amanda Waller – in the shape of Viola Davis – appears in the movie.
The director finished work on the movie the night before the panel, and the cast has seen it. Of course, they seemed happy with it.
And there were some panel-standard answers, such as Hodge admitting he thought it was a prank when Johnson called to tell him he got the part. There was even time for a joke about Kevin Hart because what Dwayne Johnson appearance is complete without that?
One final stunt? Everyone in Hall H got an IMAX cinema ticket to see ‘Black Adam’.
If there was a disappointment to be found in the panel, it’s that Warner Bros. and DC didn’t bring any other movies. No ‘Aquaman’ sequel, no ‘Flash’ (though given the issues the studio has been having with star Ezra Miller, perhaps that’s not really a surprise).
Even with the huge scale of this panel (and the obvious impact of the Rock), it’s hard not to think that Marvel might be along to top it later in the day.
‘Black Adam’ will fly into theaters on October 21st.
‘Black Adam’ marks that rare superhero movie where the person playing the role is more famous than the character. Sure, we’ve had the likes of Robert Downey Jr., who was probably better known than Tony Stark when he starred in ‘Iron Man’, but Dwayne Johnson is undoubtedly a mega movie star, while to the average person Black Adam is unlikely to generate all that much recognition.
Your usual history lesson, then: created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, the character is one of the archenemies of Shazam (as played in his own movies by Zachary Levi) and the nemesis of the Shazam Family. Black Adam first appeared as a one-time villain for the first issue of Fawcett Comics’ ‘The Marvel Family’ comic book December 1945 (a reminder here that Shazam was once known as Captain Marvel, before Marvel had Carol Danvers out there).
Black Adam was revived as a recurring character after DC Comics first licensed and then acquired the Fawcett characters and began publishing Shazam Family stories under the title ‘Shazam!’ in the 1970s.
While Johnson was at one point going to play the character as a direct villain to Levi’s Shazam, that plan evolved to give him his own movie (not a bad idea when you have someone with the Rock’s audience appeal). And in keeping with how he’s evolved in the comics, the tone shifted more towards him being an antihero rather than a straight up bad guy.
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In the movie’s story, Johnson’s Teth Adam rose from being a slave, dying, being reborn a god and meting out his particular, powerful brand of justice in the society of Kahndaq 5,000 years ago. It didn’t end so well for him, after he’s betrayed and imprisoned.
But he returns to dispense some no-nonsense justice in the present day, something that will bring him into conflict with more straightforward heroes, including, in the film the Justice Society Of America, including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo).
As shown in the trailer, Adam essentially has a choice – with his immense powers, he can choose to save the world… or he can destroy it. We’re fairly confident we know what he’ll end up doing, but it might be a close run thing. As one moment in the trailer has it, Hodge’s Hawkman tells him, “heroes don’t kill people.” “Well, I do,” comes the reply.
Tone-wise, the trailer switches between action blockbuster, portentous dialogue from The Rock about his past and some moments of comedy, such as flinging someone out into the ocean. And, of course, there are the “hero” shots – though to bring it back to ‘Iron Man’, there might be some who think that tackling a plane and catching a missile remind them of that movie.
The movie was written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani, and directed by Jaume-Collet Serra, reuniting with Johnson after they collaborated on Disney’s ‘Jungle Cruise’.
‘Black Adam’ will fly into theaters on October 21st.
