Aldis Hodge discusses the future of Hawkman after Black Adam. DCEU's upcoming feature film sees Dwayne Johnson tackle the role of the titular Man in Black. In the movie, Johnson's vengeful warrior will resurface after being wrongfully imprisoned 5,000 years ago, and alongside him, the Justice Society of America (JSA) will also make its cinematic debut. The JSA members confirmed for Black Adam include Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher, Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate, Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone, with Hodge appearing as the JSA leader Carter Hall a.k.a. Hawkman, an archaeologist and a reincarnated version of an Egyptian prince.
Hodge's Hawkman was somewhat of a mysterious figure whose purpose wasn't fully defined. But at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, the new Black Adam trailer finally showed the superhero in action, spotlighting the flight power he gains from his metal wings. At the SDCC panel, Hodge also teased some details about his character, portraying him as a righteous counterpart to Black Adam, who encourages the Kahndaqian combatant to put his powers to good use and not compromise his dignity. But, as the trailer demonstrated, Hawkman's persuasion is not effective. Rather, the opposing ideologies would put him at odds with Black Adam, who wouldn't hesitate to destroy the JSA leader with his superior powers.
Now, Slash Film reports that Hodge also discussed the DCEU future of Hawkman during Black Adam's SDCC 2022 panel. Reflecting on Hawkman's comics lore, Hodge indicated that there is a lot to explore for the character, especially considering that his superhero is a part of both the JSA and the Justice League. The actor even suggests that Hawkman has a story rich enough to potentially inspire a solo movie or film series, and he genuinely hopes he gets the opportunity to navigate his superhero's life in the future. Read what he said below.
"The thing about Hawkman, you'll know if you look at the chronology of the comic book series, you have the Justice Society, you even have him dip into the Justice League a little bit, and then you have the standalone Hawkman comics, and there's so much rich history there. His backstory, his curse, his history with Hawkgirl. There's so much there to fill out a standalone film — a few standalone films! I just hope we get to explore it."
As Hodge himself points out, Hawkman's comic arc is ripe for storytelling and potential standalone movies. His Carter Hall alter-ego is trapped in an ancient Egyptian curse of endless death and rebirth, and he also shares history with the DC supervillain Hath-Set and Shiera Sanders' Hawkgirl, whom he romances in the Golden Age. It's unclear if Black Adam would touch base with any of these storylines for Hawkman, although considering the movie's limited runtime and the vast ground it needs to cover, it's highly unlikely. The greater possibility is Black Adam would focus on Hawkman's JSA chairmanship, leaving his backstory and personal adventures to be explored in potential spin-off projects or sequels.
As Johnson himself acknowledged in a recent interview, Black Adam aims to spawn a larger franchise, where each of its superheroes get their share of the spotlight. Characters like Hawkman have huge mythologies, which can't be fleshed out in a single movie. It can only be through independent projects that their stories are honored. However, for such TV shows or movies to happen, the response to Black Adam must be favorable, and the film needs to be lucrative enough at the box office. If Hawkman connects with audiences in Black Adam, then the studio would definitely consider a spin-off focused entirely on the character, and fortunately, the prospects do seem promising, considering that the forthcoming movie is hotly-anticipated, with fans particularly excited to see the JSA come to life.
Source: Slash Film
