Black Adam Could Have Had Even More Justice Society
Warner Bros. Discovery is betting big on "Black Adam." As the embattled conglomerate has made one drastic financial decision after another following the merger between the two entities, it was rumored that the company only had enough capital to release two movies for the remainder of 2022 (via The Digital Fix). One was the similarly embattled Olivia Wilde drama "Don't Worry Darling," and the other is the new superhero film based on the DC character of the same name.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been making plenty of hay about "Black Adam," asserting that the movie will change the hierarchy of the DC universe and suggesting that his anti-hero will one day step up to battle the Man of Steel himself. Still, with the film earning a middling critical reception (via Rotten Tomatoes), all bets are off on whether audiences will respond to the movie in the way that Warner Bros. DIscovery hopes. Still, while audiences might not be seeing much of the Justice League in "Black Adam," they will be seeing an earlier version of the organization in the form of the Justice Society.
Some cuts had to be made to keep the focus on Black Adam
Before there was the Justice League, there was the Justice Society, and many members of the original DC superhero team will be appearing in "Black Adam," including Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo). However, the way producer Beau Flynn tells it, we could have seen even more of the Golden Age heroes in the film (via Collider).
"One of the great challenges to make a movie with Black Adam and the Justice Society and really launching them ... it was very tricky, particularly in the edit," Flynn explained. "There are a good handful of scenes that we did have to cut just to make sure we were servicing Black Adam." It definitely makes sense that the team behind the new superhero film would want to ensure that the movie isn't too overstuffed, particularly if they want this new flagship character to make an impact on fans of the DCEU.
"We shot a lot of footage to figure out the balance between really giving the audience a kind of backstory on the Justice side and not assuming that they know all these characters," Flynn went on. Even if the changes have been made to the theatrical cut, there's nothing to say that they might not be restored in a later release. With that in mind, fans can keep their fingers crossed that they'll see what was left on the cutting room floor at a later date.