A sequel and spinoffs for Black Adam were always part of the DCEU plan. Black Adam is the first live-action feature of the character, which stars Dwayne Johnson in the main role. Often referred to as an anti-hero or straight-up villain, Black Adam is one of the earliest characters to carry the power of Shazam, which was later transferred over to Billy Batson, the most current version of Shazam. Black Adam is commonly known as the arch-nemesis of Shazam, but has been known to team up with various superheroes from time to time as well.
Black Adam won't only be introducing fans to the main character, but multiple characters, including members of the Justice Society of America (JSA). Those characters include Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Sarah Shahi as Isis, and Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher. It's unclear how involved those characters will be in Black Adam, but it appears that their introduction is more than just a one-off appearance in another superhero's movie.
In an interview with Collider, producer Hiram Garcia says that it was always the plan to make Black Adam a regular fixture in the DCEU, as well as expand on the characters introduced in his films. "We have always had a vision of where we saw we wanted this to go," said Garcia. He elaborates that Black Adam has always been the catalyst for that corner of the DCEU, with plans of where they'd like to see it go, how multiple films would play out, including spinoffs. He says that everything hinges on the reception of Black Adam, but says, "there's 100% a vision of what we'd like to be doing in a multiple picture aspect when it comes to Black Adam and the JSA." Garcia says that "gigantic conversations" are had at Warner and DC about how to "generate content and tell these stories" and that they've "...met with everyone from every corner of DC Universe about how we can bring certain characters to life, how we can continue and build out the worlds on some of these characters, and it's just about finding the right home for it."
Garcia continues, saying that fans will "start to hear announcements regarding some of these characters" very soon. The producer says that in dealing with DC superheroes there's a "different path because everything's connected" and that they have "plans and visions" for more stories with Black Adam as well as the new characters being introduced in the film. He notes that many fan-favorite characters are being introduced in the film and that they're "currently working on spinoffs" for said characters, with big ambitions. Garcia notes that the priority is launching Black Adam, but that they're "always going to be ready when the time comes to be able to jump into those other movies and tell those stories when the fans want."
Having a plan for where to go next is a good sign for Black Adam, although it's also kind of expected at this point. Between Marvel and DC, the concept of universe building is commonplace, so to not have a plan would seem haphazard. With Dwayne Johnson, one of the biggest movie stars in the world, leading the charge for Black Adam it feels like the film being a success is all but guaranteed, which is a strong start in itself. However, with so many members of the JSA being introduced and the DCEU being expanded in such a big way, it's apt that plans would be in place on how to continue building on that foundation, especially as the competition to win audiences back into theaters post-pandemic with the top movie genre is at stake.
Source: Collider
