The full schedule for next Saturday’s DC FanDome was revealed today and on first glance it truly looks to be a spectacular event, almost too full of great panels, that will give fans a big boost as the COVID-19 pandemic presses on. Of all the scheduled events, the one that caught my eye will be taking place in the Hall of Heroes at 6:00 PM EST when Dwayne Johnson is set to appear in a Black Adam panel with some surprises tossed in. What kind of surprises might be in store? Let the speculation begin.
Landing a Hawkman
The most obvious and most anticipated bunch of surprises would come from adding to the cast. As of now, only the film’s star, Johnson, and Noah Centineo, set to play JSA member Atom Smasher, have been announced. That means there are plenty of roles left to be filled but it’s the role of Carter Hall/Hawkman that’s going to make or break this movie. The studio has been searching for a while now but rumors swirled recently that they had narrowed down their search. We know they want someone physically imposing who could appear to be able to tussle with the Rock (let’s be honest, you’re going to have one hell of a time finding that guy given Dwayne’s commitment to fitness) but also someone with a timeless quality to them. Hard to do all that, but you could see someone the likes of Charlie Hunnam, Joel Kinnaman (who, apparently, is a hot super hero commodity right now) or Alexander Skarsgard pop up in the panel, turning up the hype on this one even more.
The Villain
While the film is certainly going to see Black Adam and Hawkman come to blows, it’s unlikely that Hawkman would be the film’s true antagonist meaning there’s one big piece of the puzzle missing. I’ve heard rumblings for a while now about what type of villain the studio wants and, unsurprisingly, it seems it’ll be someone who can match Teth-Adam’s longevity. At first this sounds a lot like Vandal Savage and he would be a great pick but there’s another character whose recent retcon might make him THE perfect bad guy. The New 52 gave a new story to a character named Ibac and that story could tie right into this film. Originally, Ibac was just a guy named Stanley Printwhistle who, like Billy Batson, could say a name and be imbued with magical powers. The retcon turned him into a barbarian warlord, Ibac the First, who conquered and enslaved the people of Khandaq, killing Teth-Adam’s family in the process. Black Adam had his vengeance on Ibac only to later come to blows with a descendant. With some careful crafting, Black Adam could tell the tale of the barbarian Ibac and bring the original character back to life as well granting him the magical powers of IBAC (based on some of history’s greatest warlords), making him a better match for Black Adam.
There are certain to be more cast announcements and surprises, but these two really stand out among the potential crowd given how they’ll define the public’s perception of the film going into production. What else are you hoping to hear next week?
