Noah Centineo & Quintessa Swindell Interview: Black Adam

Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell bring to life DC Comics’ legacy characters, the Atom Smasher and Cyclone, in the upcoming and long-awaited Black Adam. The newest members of the Justice Society of America star opposite Dwayne Johnson in Warner Bros.' latest cinematic installment of the DCEU.

This marks the first time fans will see the Justice Society on the big screen, and Centineo and Swindell couldn’t be more excited. Ahead of Black Adam’s release, the new members of the iconic JSA have been teasing the dynamic between their characters, who are the oldest superhero team in DC comics, and Dwayne Johnson's antihero.

Screen Rant spoke to the superhero duo about Black Adam, and Quintessa teased fans about Cyclone’s power set and role in the Justice Society. Centineo opened up about how meeting Black Adam could change the young heroes’ perspectives, and how the legacy of his character Al Rothstein plays into the meta-human aspect of Atom Smasher.

Noah Centineo & Quintessa Swindell on JSA's Past and Future in Black Adam

Black Adam's Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone

Screen Rant: When Dwayne said the hierarchy of DC Universe was about to change, he was not lying; that is incredible. The JSA has been around since 1940 and debuted in All-Star comics. What's it like to bring the first superhero team to the big screen?

Quintessa Swindell: I mean, it's incredible. It's incredible. I've followed DC Comics for a while now, so I think just recently, it hit me. "Wow, this is a legacy team." This is a character that's a part of a legacy with Ma Hunkle, and it's excellent. It truly sets the foundation for where DC can go and even adds in those other JSA-like members.

Noah Centineo: And I think it's incredible that we get to, for the first time, introduce all these different characters to the cinematic universe of DC as a whole, starting with Black Adam.

Quintessa Swindell: Come on!

Speaking of legacy characters, Atom Smasher is one. We haven't seen his predecessor onscreen yet but, tell me, what did you want to bring to Atom Smasher in this film?

Noah Centineo: Yeah. I think what’s exciting about Adam Smasher more than anything for me personally is that, one, he gets to be a part of this crazy cast. And to be recruited into the Justice society alongside Cyclone is awesome. Making it a paired dynamic between the two of them, but really what I love about him is that he's a meta-human first; he’s not a superhero.

He gets recruited to join this team, he's like barely knows how to use his power, but he's super strong. And so I think that dichotomy in playing with that kind of ebb and flow was really, really fun and engaging, but also showing audiences what it's like to learn what it is to be a superhero.

Quintessa, this is the first time we see Cyclone at all. Can you talk to me about her power set and how she fits on the team? Because the power is almost this graceful dance that she does.

Quintessa Swindell: That idea originally came from Jauma. Of course, I looked at the source material in the comics and tried to pinpoint where Cyclone was. Even if it was a menagerie of different people, and Cyclone's at the top corner, I'm like, "Yeah, very cool. I can pull from that."

But it's incredible. He wanted her to be authentic and special, and he wanted to embody what she really represented in the comics. When I looked at her, she just seems so bright-eyed and so fun and curious and optimistic about the world. There was such a difference from who she was—very timid as a person—and who she turned into when she embodied Cyclone. Me and Jauma wanted to create that kind of difference.

She's very playful when she's in her street clothes, and very authentic and kind of weird to herself. And then when she turns into Cyclone, she can fully embrace who she is. Like Atom Smasher, she's still figuring out the scale of her powers. There were elements of dance and movement that we integrated into that; just to make it more unique amongst the many different heroes that can harness the wind in the genre.

There's a big theme of morality in this film. Can you guys talk to me about when the JSA interacts with Black Adam and how their perception of being a superhero changes in their minds?

Noah Centineo: Absolutely. I mean, I think that one of the defining characteristics of Black Adam is it opens the conversation of what is good and what is bad. And if it's good, who is it good for? And if it's bad, who is it bad for? And we provide two very different perspectives on that and the Justice Society.

If there is a sequel or a spinoff, where would you like to see your characters go next?

Quintessa Swindell: Yeah, sure. I think Noah had this answer before, which I thought was incredible. For both of our characters, seeing how they've turned into the people that they are at this present moment. Looking at their backstories, looking at how Cyclone basically was forced to have her powers and how she's navigated that. I think the backstory is excellent, but also seeing what she does after this defining moment of meeting Black Adam.

Noah Centineo: I feel the same way. That would be really cool. We'll dive in both into just what happens next, and then also how we got to here.

About Black Adam

Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods -- and imprisoned just as quickly -- Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

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