Aldis Hodge To Play Hawkman Alongside The Rock In Black Adam

Straight Outta Compton actor Aldis Hodge is set to play Hawkman in upcoming DC Comics movie, Black Adam.

Hodge, who has previously played James Lanier in The Invisible Man and Levi Jackson in Hidden Figures, will star alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Black Adam will see The Rock play the titular character in his very first superhero outing, portraying a complicated, ancient anti-hero with both villainous and heroic tendencies.

Hodge is currently in negotiations with the studio, Variety reports, though it seems The Rock has confirmed the casting after a recent post on Instagram. It’s also reported Noah Centineo has been cast as superhero Atom Smasher.

Jaume Collet-Serra (The Commute) will direct the film, with screenwriters Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani (Informer) co-writing the latest draft, which has been taken from a previous draft script by Adam Sztykiel (Made of Honor).

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THIS IS HAWKMAN 🦅 A pleasure to welcome @aldis_hodge to BLACK ADAM. HAWKMAN is a critical leading role for our movie, as he is the fiery leader of the JSA (Justice Society of America) and one of the most beloved and legendary characters in the DC UNIVERSE. I called Aldis personally as I wanted to surprise him that he got the role and it wound up being one of the greatest conversations I’ve ever had. Aldis: Hello? DJ: Hello, I’d like to speak to Aldis. Aldis: Who is this? DJ: This is Dwayne Johnson. * long pause Aldis: Whoever this is stop playing on my phone. DJ: This is Dwayne, is this Aldis? * longer pause Aldis: This shit ain’t funny, I said stop playing on my fucking phone. DJ: Aldis, this is DJ. I just called to say thank you so much for sending in your audition – it was great and I really appreciate the efforts you made. Just wanted to say thanks and best of luck in all you do. And one more thing — welcome to Black Adam. * longest pause Aldis: I’m sorry you’ll have to hold on for a one second. * he puts the phone down and walks away and all I hear is inaudible yells 😂 Aldis: DJAYYYY OHHHHH SHIT!!!!!! * Im laughing my ass off by now. DJ: You ok? You’re gonna crush this role! We went on to have an awesome conversation full of gratitude, love and motivation. Can’t wait to work with this very talented brother. The perfect HAWKMAN. Let’s get to work. #aldishodge #jsa #hawkman 🦅 #blackadam⚡️

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Sep 25, 2020 at 3:09pm PDT

The character of Hawkman looks set to be just as intriguing as Black Adam himself, with an entry on the DC Comics website revealing:

No DC superhero as lived as many lives as Hawkman, yet through each of them he has sought justice for humanity and happiness for his beloved Hawkgirl.

Since the days of World War II, there has always been an imposing figure with majestic wings and a striking bird-shaped helmet, brandishing ancient weaponry and standing alongside Earth’s greatest heroes in its time of need.

Described as a ‘fierce warrior without equal’, Hawkman has previously been written as ‘a human being trapped in an ancient Egyptian curse of endless death and rebirth’, as well as ‘an alien police officer sent to Earth to help defend it’. Sometimes, fans have seen a combination of both these identities.

At the time of writing, Black Adam is scheduled for release from December 21, 2021.

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