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THE ROCK CONFIRMS WHAT DC COMICS FILM HE WILL STAR IN

By Mike Johnson on 2014-08-19 08:59:00

While promoting the film "Hercules" in Mexico, The Rock confirmed he would star in DC Comics' "Shazam!" but had not yet made the decision as to whether he would be playing the title character or his arch-enemy Black Adam.  Johnson had been attached to play Adam at one point in the past.

Each character utters a magic word in order to be transformed by magical lightning into their super-powered guises. In the case of Shazam!, the word is an acronym bringing him the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury.

Shazam! is a youngster named Billy Batson who turns into the super-powered adult Shazam when he utters the magic word, which would allow for Rock to not only use his physical prowess as a super-hero but also his comedic skills to play the character through the eyes of a young boy.

Black Adam is an ancient Egyptian predecessor of Shazam! who became corrupted after receiving his powers. He's one of the more powerful and popular DC Comic villains and would allow Rock to play a darker character.

The Shazam! character (known at the time as Captain Marvel) was originally created in 1939 by Fawcett Comics and became some popular that it actually threatened Superman's popularity. DC Comics sued over copyright infringement, leading to Fawcett shuttering the comic.

DC eventually purchased the character and folded it into their comic line.  In 2011, they re-named the entire character "Shazam!" to prevent confusion with Marvel Comic's own, unrelated Captain Marvel character.

 

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