Black Adam trailer reveals first look at Dwayne Johnson’s DC antihero and the Justice Society of America

Warner Bros. has revealed the first full trailer for Dwayne Johnson’s superhero debut, Black Adam. A "gigantic passion project" for The Rock, the movie has been a long time coming. 

The trailer wastes no time showing off the potential of Teth-Adam – better known as Black Adam – while also introducing the Justice Society of America: Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell).

Adam’s past as a slave and the family trauma that drives him is hinted at, as he returns to Earth after 5,000 years of imprisonment. With the ability to float, fly, punch jets, and catch rockets, it’s no wonder that Johnson has been teasing a disruption to the hierarchy of power in the DC universe.

Brosnan’s Doctor Fate dominates the voiceover, establishing the moral quandary that will drive the character. "You have two choices," he explains. "You can be the destroyer of this world, or its savior." Hodge’s Hawkman also looks set to clash with Adam over his moral code, telling him, "Heroes don’t kill people," with Adam retorting, "I do."

"There was always something unique, different about Black Adam," Johnson previously told Total Film. "He was a villain, an antihero, depending on your interpretation of what a villain is. I loved this idea that his pain and rage comes from loss, and was fuelled by oppression."

Black Adam has been around in the comics since 1945, undergoing several reinventions over the years. Traditionally, he gets his powers from the wizard Shazam (the same one who turns Billy Batson into a super), but his misuse of those powers sees him quickly locked up. The Justice Society of America also dates back as far as the 1940s. Featuring a revolving roster of members, they were DC’s first superteam, but they’ve not made it to the big screen until now.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise), Black Adam also stars Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari and Bodhi Sabongui. The film opens in cinemas internationally from October 19, and in the US on October 21. In the meantime, check out our roundup of 2022's biggest upcoming movie release dates for everything else coming this year.

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
David Corenswet as Superman
Epic Superman trailer features a bloody and bruised Clark Kent, the first look at Lex Luthor, and introduces a whole bunch of heroes to James Gunn's DCU
David Corenswet as Superman
Superman trailer breakdown: from Metamorpho to Hawkgirl, all the DC Easter eggs and details we spotted
Superman
James Gunn shares new look at Superman with first poster and teaser for official trailer
David Corenswet as Superman in Superman (2025)
James Gunn shares another Superman trailer teaser, this time with a first look at Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen - and the perfect tagline
David Corenswet as Superman in first look at James Gunn's new movie
Superman release date, trailer, cast, and everything you need to know about the new movie
Robert Pattinson in The Batman
Upcoming DC movies and TV shows: every DCU title coming soon
Latest in DC Movies
Batman and Catwoman talking
Robert Pattinson is hoping to team up with his The Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz on another project soon
Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne in The Batman
Robert Pattinson worries he will be a "f*cking old Batman" by the time filming on The Batman 2 finally starts
Superman
Gen V star reveals he unsuccessfully auditioned for Superman and Homelander
Daniel Radcliffe in The Lost City / Clayface in DC comics
James Gunn denies DC casting rumors that Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe will play Clayface: "We certainly haven’t talked to or considered him"
Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry in Aquaman
Jason Momoa pitched being cast as Lobo as soon as James Gunn got his DC job in a text with "ten billion exclamation points": "It was always part of the plan"
David Corenswet as Superman
James Gunn has held screenings for Superman and the feedback means they're "making little changes" – and won't rule out "tiny" reshoots
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip