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Dwayne Johnson Strongly Implies That He Is Playing Shazam For Warner Bros. And DC

There has been much talk over which DC character Dwayne Johnson will play for Warner Bros. Originally linked to the roles of both Black Adam in a defunct Shazam film and Lobo in his own film, “The Rock” recently confirmed that he will play somebody in the DC Universe, but it was likely neither of those two. Speculation has ranged from Darkseid and Green Lantern to Aquaman and Shazam himself. Now, Johnson has offered a big hint that he will portray the Big Cheese himself.

Speaking with Total Film, Johnson is unsurprisingly asked about the DC rumors. He recounted the time he spent with DC Entertainment to decide on which character he should play and speaking with fanboys, before confirming that his role will be announced soon. This weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con perhaps? “There’s a character out there that we’re going to announce very soon, that I’m going to play, and…I’ll just say this, he has the power of Superman, and it’s not Green Lantern, by the way. And believe me, John Stewart, he was a character I wanted to play, but there was already a version of Green Lantern, and so we’ve gone in a different direction. But this character has the power of Superman, he can throw down…” Interesting comment about Green Lantern there – contrary to rumors, it sounds like John Stewart will not be a part of the big-screen Justice League (yet). Perhaps the DCCU will go the New 52 route and have Hal Jordan?

Johnson concludes by giving the biggest hint: “Just say the word. That’s all I’m going say.” As most DC fans know, Billy Batson is famous for uttering the word “Shazam!” when he transforms into the superhero Shazam, formerly Captain Marvel. So, it sounds like Johnson could very well be playing Shazam, who will reportedly headline his own film for a July 2016 release. This certainly adds even more credibility to the alleged leaked DC plans; if Johnson is doing his own movie and Shazam is out in a couple years, then it makes sense that they’re one and the same, especially considering The Rock’s involvement with a past incarnation.

Then there’s the question of how he fits into Justice League. A Wall Street Journal report claimed a while back that Shazam is one of the DC films in development that are not connected to the superhero ensemble, which is reportedly set for a May 2017 release. It doesn’t clarify whether or not the two are separate universes, but it would be illogical if that were the case. Shazam has been frequently linked with the New 52 Justice League, with the character replacing Aquaman in this year’s animated film Justice League: War. So, it wouldn’t make sense to put out movies for Shazam and Justice League and not have the two at least share the same universe. Also, Johnson has talked frequently about fighting Superman, which would be odd if his DC role didn’t even co-exist with the Man of Steel.

With Comic-Con this weekend, we can expect plenty of DC movie news. Stay tuned for more as we have it.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.