It’s been roughly 87 years since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was confirmed to play Black Adam in the DC Extended Universe, and a lot has changed since then. The universe itself has gotten off to quite the rocky start, and tons of films have been planned and announced to help turn things around. Clearly, whatever Plan A was a few years ago is no longer at play here, and apart from a string of movie titles, we have little idea of how Warner Bros. plans on bringing it all together.

Despite the fact that it has Dwayne Johnson attached to the character, and despite the fact that we will be getting a standalone Black Adam film in addition to Shazam, his involvement in this universe seems like a distant prospect. As of right now, the core Justice League group seems to be having enough problems to get through before introducing another set of characters. But when can we actually expect him to step in as Black Adam?

RELATED: Dwayne Johnson Talks Black Adam & DCEU World-Building

Speaking to Fandango, Johnson answered that very question with a bit of a surprise:

“We’ve had great conversations with Geoff Johns and everyone over at DC. It’s an exciting time right now for everyone at DC because they are in a process now where they are building out [their DC universe] really nicely. We have a really cool surprise for Black Adam that I can’t reveal, in terms of where we will see Black Adam being introduced.”

Of course, in true Dwayne Johnson form, the quote is full of positive verbiage and back-patting (this is a man who works on positive reenforcement, after all), but the fun bit has to do with the last part, “in terms of where we will see Black Adam being introduce.” This seems to imply that Black Adam will be introduced prior to his own film, and prior to a Shazam film, in a way we simply will not see coming.

I personally love this idea, because I’ve always been the fan of Black Adam being introduced as a villain before turning into an anti-hero, and eventually Shazam himself. However, any hope I had in Johnson ultimately playing Shazam were quickly shattered based on a conversation with We Got This Covered.

Speaking to that outlet, Johnson mentioned who he’d like to see take up the mantle of Shazam:

“I’m gonna throw one name out here. I wanna see how the fans are going to react to this. A guy who I met, and after I met him, I was like, ‘man that guy was such a cool guy.’ He’s a lot bigger than I thought he would be, and when I walked away, I remember telling our producer Hiram Garcia, ‘possibly Shazam?’ I’m not even gonna say his name. I’ll just say Lone Ranger.”

Unless Johnson is talking about Johnny Depp, I’d say that’s safe to assume he was talking about Armie Hammer himself. Funny enough, Hammer is an actor who’s had his name thrown around Tinsel Town for a long time, whether it be Batman or Green Lantern, but Shazam would be quite the inspired choice. He definitely has that real Boy Scout look to him that would be very fitting for a character like that.

What do you think of Johnson’s statements? When do you think we’ll be seeing Black Adam in the DCEU, and who do you think should play Shazam? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCES: Fandango, We Got This Covered