The marketing for DC’s Black Adam movie continues a key mistake made by the Synderverse movies in the early days of the DCEU. As proven by its current slate of movies (including Black Adam), DC has come quite far over the last few years. There was a time when it was reliant on the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel, but that era has long since passed.
The DCEU immediately put its focus on Batman and Superman, but even with these two huge properties being front-and-center of DC’s cinematic universe, the results were less than satisfactory. Later, the box office success and critical acclaim of films like Wonder Woman and Shazam! were clear signs that DC could make lesser-known heroes work on the big screen. But despite that realization, there’s still a concern over whether or not DC’s next superhero venture, Black Adam, will be the hit the studio wants it to be. By shining the spotlight on a prominent anti-hero from DC Comics, the upcoming film certainly promises something different, but exactly how it will be received remains to be seen.
The approach DC is taking with its marketing for Black Adam hinges on the brutality of the character. One of the ways in which DC is emphasizing how different Black Adam is to all other heroes is by drawing attention to his violent and cold-blooded methods in the trailers and TV spots. Johnson added on to that by revealing in an interview that even ripping someone in half isn’t off the table for Black Adam in the DCEU. The problem with putting so much focus on this fundamental difference is that DC’s own history suggests it may not work. Employing a darker tone greatly hurt the early DCEU installments, specifically Snyder’s work in the franchise. DC seemingly went overboard with its grimdark plan for both Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League and paid the price for it.
Will Black Adam Be A Success?
Repeating a similar tragedy doesn’t necessarily doom Black Adam, which has a lot that can work in its favor when it hits theaters in 2021. First of all, it has the Rock. Black Adam himself may not be well-known with general audiences, but Johnson is still a box office draw whose name recognition and image should play a pivotal role in raising interest in Black Adam. Admittedly, the darkness of the character stands in stark contrast to Johnson’s entire career, though that change could ultimately be a welcome one if handled correctly. All things considered, the movie can be a success for the DCEU.
Going all-in on and dark and grittiest elements of the superhero genre didn’t work out so well for Zack Snyder’s movies, but Black Adam has a chance at being an exception for the DCEU. Unlike characters like Batman and Superman, Black Adam is an anti-hero at heart, so going in this direction fits who he is and may in fact be the appropriate way to tell his story when it wasn't for the others. But if the film fails to be a hit, DC may need to rethink its approach for the movies that follow.
