Dwayne Johnson went a few steps beyond merely teasing his long-awaited "Black Adam" movie at Comic-Con in San Diego on Saturday.
Ever the showman, Johnson brought a new traile r for the DC Comics superhero film and some flashy technology, lighting up the biggest room at the annual fan convention all while in costume. But he had another big reveal too: Johnson told the 6,000-some people in the audience that they could see "Black Adam" in IMAX for free with the help of the ticketing service Fandango.
The character Black Adam has the powers of the ancient gods and has been entombed for some 5,000 years before being released into the modern world. In the trailer he says his powers are "a curse, not a gift."
Set for an Oct. 21 theatrical release, "Black Adam" reunites Johnson with his "Jungle Cruise" director Jaume Collet-Serra. It also stars Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, all of whom joined Johnson and Collet-Serra for the panel.
"Black Adam" was just one part of Warner Bros. return to Comic-Con, where audiences also got a glimpse at a new trailer for " Shazam! Fury of the Gods." Stars Zachary Levi and Lucy Liu were on hand to promote the sequel, which is due to arrive in theaters on Dec. 21 and continues the story of a teenager-turned-superhero who is feeling a bit like a fraud. The film sees the return of Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody and adds Helen Mirren and Rachel Zegler of "West Side Story" to the mix.
The studio stuck to its 2022 superhero releases, forgoing sneak peeks at films due next year. One of those is "The Flash," whose star Ezra Miller was arrested in Hawaii twice this year — in a disorderly conduct case and on suspicion of assault.
Miller plays Barry Allen in the Andy Muschietti-directed film, which has wrapped production and is supposed to open in June 2023. They have been credited as the first out LGBT person to play a lead role in a major superhero film.
Lindsey Bahr is an AP film writer
