The release of Black Adam in cinemas will shift the power dynamic of the DCEU. The fans of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may be shocked by the level of violence in his first superhero film. In an interview with Beau Flynn and Hiram Garcia, director Steven Weintraub said that Black Adam nearly received an R rating from the MPAA because of its record killstreak. In Black Adam, we learn how one of the most potent metahumans in the DC Universe got his start as the titular antihero. The problem is that Black Adam uses his considerable power to enforce his perverted concept of justice, according to which all criminals must be put to death without trial.
The Justice Society of America tries to stop Black Adam in this first cinematic depiction of the character, so it’s no surprise that he’s always fighting superheroes. How much bloodshed, if any, should we anticipate in a PG-13 superhero flick? Would Johnson’s Teth-Adam be okay with all the killing, considering he usually plays decent guys? A thunderous “yes” is the correct response. Black Adam is extremely violent and was thus classified as R for a significant portion of its development.
In Garcia’s words: We took great care to respect Black Adam’s persona. Not including his trademark aggressiveness and brutality in a Black Adam film would have been a huge missed opportunity. So, we expected to go to the extremes that we did from the start. We anticipated working closely with the MPAA to get the desired rating, and we were successful in doing so. But it was crucial that we do it. Also, Dwayne had a strong dedication to that.
The filmmakers’ dedication to the original material is admirable, but the movie nearly lost its PG-13 rating because of it. The film only received its PG-13 rating “I suppose it was maybe four or five weeks ago,” as Flynn tells us. That’s a really narrow margin. However, Johnson and the show’s creators were adamant about protecting the antihero’s dark side. Flynn puts it best: “We owed it to the fans.”
But in the midst of Flynn, Garcia, and Johnson’s negotiations with the MPAA, what was lost? The amount of times Johnson brutally murders an adversary roughly doubled from what the creators of Black Adam claim, they say. To which Flynn responded: Many changes were necessary, and we made them. We had to let go of some treasured memories from our personal lives. Nonetheless, we never gave in and never had to remove a scene. When Black Adam is in the middle of the fly bike pursuit scenario and drops one of the intergang troops, that was a terrific moment for us. In a thrilling climax, the vehicle really rebounds over the dead guy. However, they are the scenes that matter the most to you and that you will always remember from these films. You have to take risks and try new things. Moreover, I count four or five of those among our resources. We settled on a number with the MPAA that worked, and at one time there were 10.
Sadly, we were unable to see the R-rated version of Black Adam in cinemas, but perhaps the uncut version will be made available for purchase on home video in the future. Flynn affirms, “there will be certain features for when we release on home video and streaming. There will be some exciting components for that, too, but for now, we need Black Adam to do well at the box office so that Flynn and Garcia can advocate for even bigger sequels. Flynn said, “We have so many ideas on how we can take to the next level and hope that [Black Adam] will be welcomed in the way we’d want. Then, if we’re lucky, we’ll have a solid foundation upon which to build in subsequent episodes.
As of the 21st of October, you may see Black Adam in cinemas.