Black Adam will feature the villain group Intergang, Sarah Shahi has revealed.
"I play a character named Adrianna, and she's a freedom fighter that's leading this big resistance against an evil, malicious group called Intergang," Shahi told The Hollywood Reporter.
In DC Comics, Intergang are a powerful group of criminals armed with weapons and technology from the sinister New Gods on planet Apokolips. The New Gods include Darkseid, who was the big bad of Zack Snyder's Justice League. Intergang have gone up against Superman more than once – and, at one point, the group were led by Lex Luthor.
Shahi added: "In this day and age, to be a woman and to play a role that's not the finger-shaking girlfriend or the secretary is essential. And knowing that I can play a character like Adrianna – who's incredibly tough, who's a badass, who's human but goes head to head with superheroes – is pretty important. And I think it sets a really great precedent, especially for the younger generation."
In the comics, Adrianna is the real name of the superhero Isis, who gets her powers from a special amulet. From Shahi's comments, it seems Adrianna won't be powered up in Black Adam, though that doesn't necessarily mean she won't gain her abilities eventually.
Shahi also spoke about the importance of representation in the movie. "I'm Middle Eastern; I'm Persian," the actor said. "And there's not a lot of Middle Eastern representation out there, so being in a movie like this really helps make a statement for my culture and where I come from. There are other Middle Eastern actors that I know who are either getting cast in terrorist roles or they're really being stereotyped by how they look. So I'm hoping that, on some level, Black Adam will help break open that stereotype."
Along with Shahi, Black Adam stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the title role, with Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.
Black Adam arrives July 29, 2022. Until then, check out how to watch DC movies in order to get up to speed on the DCEU.
