Being on the set of a superhero blockbuster film can feel like being in the eye of a hurricane. There may be moments of calm where you are planted, but there are most likely whirlwinds of activity all around you, so policing what is going on must be extremely difficult. This is why directors have assistant directors and producers have assistants to help keep the ship afloat as production moves forward.
And it appears that there was an unspoken rule on the set of the upcoming DC film Black Adam, which stars Dwayne Johnson in the title role, that one prop on the set – no matter how chaotic things got – could only be reserved for The Rock. And once you realize what it is, the rule makes perfect sense.
There’s one particularly well-known sketch of the DC villain Black Adam, which has only grown in popularity as the character is introduced to the world in this upcoming blockbuster. It depicts Black Adam slumped on a throne, surveying his domain and deciding where to strike next. It appears as follows:
Although Black Adam does not completely recreate this scene, it does pay homage to it at one point in the film. So, when we had a chance to talk about the film’s production with director Jaume Collet-Serra, I asked him about that day on set and learned something very special about Black Adam’s throne. The director told:
No one else sat on that throne except (Johnson). You understand what I mean? The throne was built. We acted out scenes around the throne. It was never sat on. There are no crew members. There were no photographs taken. That throne is solely his.
This is part of what distinguishes Dwayne Johnson. Yes, people may have told The Rock that if he wanted to make it in Hollywood, he needed to better imitate classic movie stars. But the former pro wrestler just grinded it out and carved out his own space, creating a DC comic book anti-hero who is poised to change the landscape of the DC universe moving forward… perhaps by fighting a well-known DC Comics superhero.
Returning to the throne for a moment. Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra elaborated on the moment he captured that sequence, praising The Rock for knowing the moment would be significant, explaining:
It’s not a single take, but we didn’t do too many. It was completely natural. He is aware. It’s not something we have to discuss… Dwayne is familiar with the comic, as well as the posture. So we just handed him the camera and he did it, and it was fantastic.
It was successful. The critical reaction to Black Adam has been mostly positive, though we don’t know how the film is doing ahead of its release. We haven’t seen a comic-book movie in theaters in a few months, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still a few weeks away. Keep up with the latest superhero blockbusters and Upcoming 2022 Movies by bookmarking and revisiting our guide.
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