Pierce Brosnan talks Doctor Fate and the Justice Society of America in Black Adam

Black Adam
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

The Justice Society of America are DC’s oldest superteam, predating the Justice League by 20 years with a 1940 debut, though they’re only now coming to the screen. That team is led by one of its founding members, Kent Nelson, AKA Doctor Fate, played here by Pierce Brosnan. sporting a shiny alien helmet, and can use magic, as well as having the ability to look into the future.

"I am the elder of the group," former Bond star Brosnan tells Total Film in the new issue of the magazine, which features Black Adam on the cover. "I’m assured he’s one of the oldest characters in the pantheon of comic-book characters. He’s an archaeologist."

"He has powers to foresee the future, and raise the dead, and teleport, while wearing a gold helmet," he continues. Is the helmet essential to unleashing the powers? "Absolutely, yes. It’s a blessing and a curse. It’s almost like a drug addiction in some respects. It takes a lot of energy to wear the helmet. It was a very beautifully designed outfit and helmet, which I’m quite fond of. Jaume Collet-Serra is very inclusive in the collaboration. He was wonderful in the sense that he would send me designs of the helmet, so I could participate in the look of it."

Black Adam

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Another legendary comic-book character will be Adam’s moral counterpoint. Carter Hall – Hawkman, when he’s in superhero mode – is played by Aldis Hodge (One Night In Miami, The Invisible Man). "This brother has been around for a while," Hodge explains. "He has the power – or rather the curse – of reincarnation. So he’s actually been around for thousands of years, even during the time of Teth-Adam, when he was originally in his previous form."

For much more from the cast and crew behind the movie check out the new issue of Total Film, also featuring articles on Andor, The Woman King, and more.

The magazine reaches shelves on August 18 and will be available to order through this link. Or subscribe and never miss an issue again and receive magazines with exclusive cover images and insider secrets. Black Adam reaches cinemas October 21.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.

Read more
Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan in Lanterns
The first look at Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler's Green Lantern TV series is here – and DC fans are losing it over Hal Jordan's ring
John Stewart and the members of the Green Lantern Corps.
Green Lantern Corps: Jeremy Adams and Morgan Hampton on John Stewart, Hawkwoman, and how the Justice League animated series inspired their new comic
The comics Copperhead and the MCU Copperhead.
Captain America: Brave New World – Meet Copperhead, a twist on the Marvel Comics villain played by a former Game of Thrones star
Lois Lane looking over her shoulder
Superman star Rachel Brosnahan reveals how James Gunn's DC movie is "so true to the comics"
Aquaman swims into battle.
Aquaman #1: Everything you need to know about Arthur Curry's new power, new mystery to solve, and his place in DC All In
The SilverHawks line up.
39 years after its final animated episode, cult cartoon SilverHawks is back in a new comic that writer Ed Brisson calls "The Untouchables in space"
Latest in DC Movies
Jason Momoa next to Lobo
Jason Momoa has gone method taking on the role of Lobo: "I asked everybody to call me by my character's name"
Batgirl movie
Unearthed Daredevil-like fight scene from DC's canceled Batgirl movie gives us a taste of what we could have had
Jason Momoa in A Minecraft Movie
Jason Momoa says the DCU's Lobo is "exactly like" the comic book character in upcoming Supergirl movie
Guy Gardner Green Lantern in Superman
Nathan Fillion says his version of Green Lantern in James Gunn's Superman is "a jerk": "He's not nice, which is very freeing as an actor"
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Zack Snyder celebrates 4 years of the Snyder Cut of Justice League: "Still humbled by the fact that this exists at all"
The Penguin episode 8 (2024)
Fans are excited for Colin Farrell to join the DCU, but some are a little conflicted about The Penguin star's new role
Latest in News
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says