Dwayne Johnson admits Black Adam production could be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Having been cast as the character way back in 2014, recently it looked like Johnson was finally going to see his long-gestating comic book adaptation come into fruition. Late last year, Black Adam officially received a December 2021 release date, aiming to commence principal photography this summer. While Black Adam isn't going to cross paths with Shazam yet, the plan is for Black Adam to introduce the Justice Society to the DC Extended Universe.

Johnson's been waiting for this chance since 2008 (when he started developing Black Adam), but it's possible he'll have to wait a little longer. As most people know, the coronavirus pandemic has had a massive impact on the entertainment industry, forcing studios to postpone movie premieres and indefinitely delay productions. Since the situation remains extremely fluid, it's difficult to predict when things will return to normal for Hollywood, meaning shoots targeted for the summer could be in jeopardy as well.

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During an Instagram Live video, Johnson discussed Black Adam and how it could be affected by the spread of COVID-19. Right now, there's no official word on if Black Adam production will be delayed, though Johnson is aware it very well might be:

I’m very excited about Black Adam by the way, I’ve been training very, very hard for that role. We were supposed to start shooting it in the summer, in July, and we’ll see. I’m not quite too sure if it’s still gonna happen - or, at least, if we’ll still start shooting in July but it will all work out the way it’s meant to work out.

Johnson's comments here are similar to his thoughts on the likelihood of Jungle Cruise being unable to meet its scheduled July 2020 release date. As far as his vehicles are concerned, he's in a bit of a holding pattern, having to wait and see how things change over the next couple of months. While June movies like Wonder Woman 1984 and In the Heights are moving back in response to the health crisis, it's still a little early to make concrete decisions on July events. Obviously, people are hoping the circumstances have vastly improved by then, but there's no guarantee they will. The expectation is the postponed productions won't be able to resume until mid-May at the earliest, and even that window is considered "overly optimistic" by some. It's for that reason blockbusters slated for 2021 - like The Batman and The Matrix 4 - may have to change release dates.

If Black Adam can't film in July, then it's certainly realistic other upcoming projects like Thor: Love and Thunder and Spider-Man Homecoming 3 will miss their planned start windows this summer as well. Hollywood won't resume operations until it's deemed safe to do so, meaning the best everyone can do right now is just sit tight, practice social distancing, and do their part to stop the spread of coronavirus. Hopefully things get better soon, and the lineup of 2021 films isn't impacted too much - though all these delayed 2020 tentpoles will have to go somewhere on the calendar.

More: Coronavirus: Every Movie & TV Show Production Delayed

Source: Dwayne Johnson

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