Speaking about his upcoming role as Hawkman in Black Adam, Aldis Hodge shed some light on the importance of Black superheroes and representation in the superhero genre. Hodge, who is of Dominican and African descent, has made a name for himself recently with roles in The Invisible Man, One Night in Miami, and in September of 2020, Hodge was announced as DC’s choice to play Hawkman in Black Adam and the greater DC Extended Universe
Hodge has been making headlines recently. During his virtual press tour for One Night in Miami, in which he portrays NFL icon Jim Brown, Hodge has been speaking a lot about his upcoming role as Hawkman and his co-star Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam. Hodge has spoken about everything from the inspiration he draws from Regina King and Dwayne Johnson, his preparation for the role of Hawkman, and how he uses The Rock’s workout pictures on Instagram as motivation to gain the muscle necessary to play Hawkman.
During an interview with Geeks of Color, Hodge took a break from discussing Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami and spoke candidly about the importance of black superheroes with a focus on what his role as Hawkman will mean for kids. Hodge, who tried to be cast as a superhero for 15 years, considers the role of Hawkman to be “a grand responsibility.”
When I think about the representation aspect of that, because I didn’t grow up watching superheroes that look like me, you know? I remember my teens, my early teens, maybe we came into like, Spawn and Blade, you know what I’m saying? And that was awesome. So to know that younger kids are gonna be able to see that and see opportunity. And having awareness that I didn’t have a young age about what they can accomplish; that really is fantastic. And again, that’s the greater goal of this. So, you know, it’s a grand responsibility. Still, there is still responsibility, and I’m gonna take care of it. But I’m very grateful. Very excited.
Other than Johnson and Hodge in the lead roles, Black Adam has filled out its cast with a diverse group of actors to play various heroes also part of the Justice Society of America, including Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone and Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher. Black Adam is currently without a release date and in continual production delays due to the coronavirus, so it may be a while until we see The Rock and Hodge don their costumes for Black Adam. However, shooting is expected to begin within the next few months, barring further delays.
The character of Hawkman has such a puzzled history, so it will be interesting to see how Black Adam handles it, especially the character’s historic ties to Africa. Hawkman has been reincarnated numerous times, but his original state is the Egyptian Prince Khufu Kha-Tarr. Considering the choice to cast Hodge, it appears the film will not shy away from this part of Hawkman’s backstory. For now, Hodge’s casting as Hawkman is a momentous moment for Black superheroes in film.
Source: Geeks of Color/Twitter
