Dwayne Johnson Booms Into Comic-Con as 'Black Adam,' Fulfilling His 20-Year Dream (Exclusive)

Dwayne Johnson's epic character in Black Adam has jumped off the big screen and lit up Comic-Con center stage. The famed actor surprised San Diego convention-goers by appearing in full costume for the cast's panel presentation at Hall H. 

The immersive experience began when Johnson boomed into the room, rising through the stage in a cloud of dark smoke with vibrant lightning strikes surrounding him, saying, "Hall H, you have been warned. The DC universe will never be the same again.” 

Comic-con attendees were wearing "lightning light" necklaces that bolted on when Johnson made his powerful entrance, lighting up the room and prompting boisterous applause and cheers. 

ET's Matt Cohen caught up with Johnson on the Comic-Con red carpet where he revealed bringing his superhero role to the famed San Diego convention has fulfilled a "20-year dream" of his. "It was a moment," Johnson said genuinely, "Coming back here to Comic-Con, Hall H, the dream has always been to represent a superhero. I was a DC kid growing up, now I'm still a DC kid as a man." 

Describing the motivation behind his epic, costume-clad entrance, Johnson said, "The goal was, if we were gonna go, let's make it special. Let's really deliver something that's different and unique for the fans." 

Johnson's Black Adam suit transforms him into a superhero from head to toe. The skintight gray and gold ensemble features a large lightning bolt across his chest. 

Getting candid about the superhero suit, Johnson said, "The best thing about the costume was removing all the muscle pads." He explained that his intense fitness regimen was being overshadowed by the suit, "I was like 'this is ridiculous, I have worked too hard, I have worked my butt off for this,' so we removed the muscle padding out of the costume so now it's just a latex fit on me." 

The spectacle was certainly the highlight of the Black Adam event which also saw a conversation between stars Aldis Hodge (Hawkman), Noah Centineo (Atom Smasher) and Quintessa Swindell (Cyclone), with director Jaume Collet-Serra explaining the motivation behind the project. 

Black Adam is the first-ever feature film to explore the story of this DC superhero. The film follows 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.

Not only did Johnson delight Comic-Con with never-before-seen footage from the forthcoming film, but every fan in the crowd was also given the opportunity to see Black Adam in IMAX for free via Fandango when it hits theaters

Black Adam smashes into theaters and IMAX internationally in October 2022. 

See below for more of Entertainment Tonight’s ongoing coverage of Comic-Con 2022, including the daily schedule and biggest highlights of the weekend.

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