‘Shazam!’ Director Reveals Why He Didn’t Use Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam

Filmmaker David F. Sandberg opened up about why Shazam! won’t feature Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) fighting the titular hero.

Back in September 2014, actor Dwayne Johnson revealed that he would be playing the character Black Adam in the DC Extended Universe. Many fans assumed that this would mean that the actor would be going up against Shazam in the hero’s first movie. Almost five years later, David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! is in post-production, prepping for its April release date, and it won’t feature Black Adam as the main villain. Instead, the titular hero, played by Zachary Levi, will go up against classic DC villain Doctor Sivana.

The iconic role will be played by Mark Strong, who previously played another iconic DC villain, Sinestro, in 2011’s Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds. During a recent sneak preview event for Shazam!, director David F. Sandberg was asked why he opted for Sivana as the film’s villain instead of Black Adam. This is what the filmmaker had to say about omitting Dwayne Johnson’s villain from the film.

“Sivana is kind of the oldest villain almost for Shazam. It was always that, when I come on board, it was always Sivana. I think they sort of played with the idea of having the first movie be both Shazam and Black Adam and felt like it needs more setup than you want to spend.”

When David F. Sandberg was asked if there was any truth to a rumor suggesting that Dwayne Johnson was going to appear in Shazam! during a post-credit scene, but didn’t because a Black Adam suit couldn’t be created in time, this is what producer Peter Safran had to say.

“Complete myth. He might have been available. That’s the only thing about that statement that might be true. I don’t know if he was or not, but no. There was never a conversation with him about a post-credit sequence.”

Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam doesn’t have a set date for when he’ll debut on the big screen but the superstar is still attached to the role. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all news regarding Shazam! as soon as more information becomes available. Do you think Black Adam should have been the villain of the film or are you glad that Shazam will be going up against Sivana first? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!