The Rock has already taken over the worlds of sports and Hollywood, but now he’s about to take on the universe, too, as Black Adam. The disruptive, not-so-innocent superhero has got a real chip on his shoulder, and for good reason — something Dwayne Johnson told me he wishes he could be a little more like.
Dwayne Johnson was already a superhero to us, but in “Black Adam,” the DC Extended Universe just went ahead and made it official.
Aldis Hodge (as Hawkman): “This loose cannon needs to be locked down before innocent people start getting hurt.”
Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods, but after using them for vengeance, he gets sent away.
But somebody brings him back, almost 5,000 years later … after “Black Adam” had already become a legend. Kind of like The Rock himself.
Dwayne Johnson: “Good to see you, man.”
Alex Miranda: “Good to see you, too!”
Dwayne Johnson: “How are my friends at Deco?”
Alex Miranda: “Well, you know, loving you still.”
The former Hurricane told me, this really is a dream come true.
Dwayne Johnson: “I mean, you talk about my old days in Miami, from UM to wrestling to film, everything I’ve done in my career has led, honestly, to this moment.”
Why? For one, representation.
Dwayne Johnson: “He had brown skin. When I was a kid and I first saw my first ‘Black Adam ‘comic book, and I first saw this guy with rage and intensity in his eyes and brown skin, I said, ‘I wanna be him.'”
And that unique form of justice?
Dwayne Johnson: “He’s blessed with same powers as superman, but yet he kills people.”
Is challenged by modern-day heroes Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone.
Quintessa Swindle: “She’s a young girl who’s. like, for the first time stepping into herself and taking up space, and actively choosing to be her most authentic self, and unapologetic.”
In other words, she’s “‘Gone with the Wind’ fabulous.” Like Kenya Moore.
Alex Miranda: “Hahaha!”
Quintessa Swindle: “I’m crying!”
Spoiler alert: Noah Centineo isn’t an atom smasher in real life, but he did really dislocate his arm on set — twice! Despite that, he says…
Noah Centineo: “I showed up, I had fun every single day.”
But, if he really were 70 feet tall…
Noah Centineo: “I could probably reduce the price of space exploration exponentially.”
Alex Miranda: “That’s true.”
Noah Centineo: “I could take a rocket and just [makes throwing movement].”
And how about Dwayne?
Alex Miranda: “What is it about this character that you wish you could be more like?”
Dwayne Johnson: “The bad guys, he’s quick to put his hands on. I can’t do that anymore, not like my old UM days. There’s a cool freedom in that sometimes, you know. People start mouthing off a little bit like the bad guys do in the movie, and he puts his hands on them, ‘bing, bang, boom.'”
Alex Miranda: “We can’t do that anymore.”
Dwayne Johnson: “You can’t do it anymore.”
“Black Adam” hits theaters this Thursday.
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