The producers behind Black Adam discussed the casting process for the DCEU’s Justice Society of America.
Yesterday, Heroic Hollywood was part of a select group of genre press that had the opportunity to attend a special early screening of the first Black Adam trailer at the Steven J. Ross Theater at the Warner Bros. Lot in Burbank, CA. Following the trailer screening, we also participated in a special intimate roundtable Q&A with the film’s star/producer Dwayne Johnson, director Jaume Collet-Serra, and producers Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn.
During the Q&A, moderator Tiffany Smith asked the team about the Justice Society of America, and how casting the DCEU‘s version of the iconic superhero team that pre-dates even the Justice League was key for Black Adam‘s success. Producer Hiram Garcia acknowledged the huge responsibility in casting the right actors:
“I remember we started with Noah [Centineo], which we were really excited about, injecting youth into our JSA group, but also capturing the spirit of Atom Smasher – of these fresh eyes into the group. And then you start to round it out, you get someone like Aldis [Hodge} for Hawkman, and Hawkman is such a beloved, well-known character, and one of the things we were excited about when Aldis came into set for pre-production, he got so big. He was already fit, it’s the “DJ” effect we call it. We know if you come to work with DJ, you get big. And so all the actors came in fit, but Aldis, we walked in and were like, ‘Oh my God.’
They were also just fired up, and really took to heart the responsibility of portraying these characters. [Quintessa Swindell], and what Q felt in studying Cyclone and bringing Cyclone to life. And Noah with Atom Smasher, and then obviously, the icing on top is when you get Pierce Brosnan to play Doctor Fate, who is the wisdom of experience in the group. We just couldn’t be happier, and I think the world is going to respond to these characters because you see that the JSA is a real foundation for where so many other superhero teams came from, and so for that to be in our movie is really special.”
How Atom Smasher and Cyclone bring “Gen Z” energy to the DCEU.
Producer Beau Flynn also reflected on the fact that since Dwayne Johnson was attached to play the DCEU‘s Black Adam, they were able to cast their ideal choices for the roles for the Justice Society of America:
“We were able to get Noah and to have him read opposite many talented actors. Quintessa came in and won the role. That chemistry is so important between Atom Smasher and Cyclone, and that’s a really cool, fresh relationship. Their optimism about the world, we haven’t really seen Gen Z really represented kind of like that, so that’s also really exciting. A lot of honesty there.”
Beau Flynn also recalled a story in which Dwayne Johnson called Aldis Hodge and told him he won the role as Hawkman, the leader of the Justice Society of America in the DCEU. The Black Adam star then played the moment out in a humorous moment during the Q&A, in which Hodge was constantly in denial during the phone call, and acknowledged that his mother was in the background of the call.
Here is the synopsis for the DCEU film, Black Adam:
“Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam (Johnson) is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.”
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a script written by by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, the DCEU film stars Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Bodhi Sabongui, and Pierce Brosnan.
Black Adam opens in theaters on October 21, 2022. Be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news on the upcoming film, as well as the future of the Justice Society of America in the DCEU, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more original video content.
