With the shared history of Black Adam and Shazam in DC Comics, you’d think there’d be a connection between the DCEU films. But, it appears that there was little love between Dwayne Johnson’s film and Shazam! even before the curtain dropped on the old WBD series. The Gods’ Wrath. This has been highlighted once again by the only reference to last year’s Black Adam in the new Zachary Levi-led film, which does not really address Black Adam.
When Dwayne Johnson made his debut as Black Adam, it seemed very evident that it was the beginning of something enormous that would lay the groundwork for the future stages of the DCEU and eventually lead to big crossovers with Superman and Shazam. Yet, it didn’t take long for that plot to fall apart in a dramatic way, but by then, Shazam! Wrath of the Gods was already in the works, thus Johnson’s persona would have been addressed in some way.
Shazam is met by Emilia Harcourt and John Economos, played by Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee, in the mid-credits sequence of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Although Harcourt appears in Black Adam, and her letter to Shazam is sent via the franchise-spanning Amanda Waller, the only relation it has is that the meeting is to induct Shazam with the Justice Society members. The character of Black Adam is not mentioned at all.
Was Black Adam ever the contender he was portrayed as?
Despite the fact that the previous DCEU is coming to an end, it would have been expected that the character of Black Adam would be mentioned somewhere in the Shazam sequel. Because of this, it is evident that the possibility of Black Adam and Shazam meeting in any capacity was probably never on the table.
With the two characters inextricably intertwined in the comic books, the concept of keeping them apart on film appears to be another problematic move by the former leadership. Whether there was ever any more chance of Shazam and Black Adam crossing over than there was of Henry Cavill’s Superman returning on a long-term basis seems more unlikely, despite the rumors and Dwayne Johnson’s notion that he could reinvent the DCEU with him at the heart of it.
The future of the new DC Universe appears to have made it apparent that Black Adam will not be appearing again in any important capacity, if at all, while the fate of Shazam appears to be quite uncertain. Finally, it would be difficult to argue against a third Shazam film if Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a massive box office success, but it would have to be breathtakingly huge, which doesn’t seem realistic given the film’s mediocre start.
