Dwayne Johnson reveals Black Adam release date ...by taking over Times Square

With pandemic postponements pushing Black Adam ever farther down the movie calendar, DC fans got a round of recent good news when Warner Bros. revealed plans to finally begin filming on the long-delayed standalone hero film in April. Now Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Black Adam's titular star, has just pulled an even bigger move to make it all feel a lot more real — unveiling the release date in just the kind of swaggery, over-the-top way that suits the Shazam! anti-hero best.

Announcing the film’s release Sunday during TBS’ pregame coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament, Johnson used his powers to simultaneously take over Times Square’s giant digital billboards, splashing “7.29.22” across them all while his disembodied voice echoed through the square: “The hierarchy of power in the DC universe is about to change,” he teased, along with the July 29, 2022 big release date reveal. Johnson also posted the big moment to his Instagram page.

Now that Black Adam is officially 16 months away, the pieces of DC’s big-screen plans to follow up the success of 2019’s Shazam! are beginning to fall more firmly into place. With a premiere date that’s only three months before Shazam! Fury of the Gods bolts to theaters on Nov. 4, 2022, the budding mini-franchise DC jump-started with the breakout box office fortune of the earlier film looks set for a significant supercharge starting next summer.

Warner Bros. revealed only days ago that former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan had been set to play Doctor Fate alongside Johnson and fellow Black Adam stars Aldis Hodge (Hawkman) Noah Centineo (Atom Smasher), and Quintessa Swindell (Cyclone). Following the same production delays that have affected the wider moviemaking industry, the studio also plans to begin filming Black Adam in Atlanta next month.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows), Black Adam brings the ancient powers of the Egyptian pantheon to modern-day movie fans next July.