A Big-Name Actor Was Just Cast As Doctor Fate In Black Adam

Warner Bros. is currently on a roll with its DC Comic-based productions, and it shows no sign of slowing down in the coming months. Zack Snyder's Justice League impressed many following its HBO Max debut, the dimension-hopping Flash is on-track to become one of the DCEU's most important installments, and the premieres of The Suicide Squad and The Batman are right around the corner. In the distant future, eager moviegoers will also have the chance to see Black Adam — Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's first foray into the mainstream superhero genre.

Black Adam began as an exciting proposition, fueled by the promise of seeing Johnson take on such a famed antihero. However, in the time since its official announcement, a handful of other additions to the cast list has only sweetened the deal. For instance, Aldis Hodge has signed on to play Hawkman, Noah Centineo is slated to portray Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell will bring Cyclone to the big screen. As if the cast couldn't get any bigger, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Black Adam has found some room to include Doctor Fate alongside them.

Here's the A-lister who landed the gig, and what it could mean for the future of DCEU.

According to the report, former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan will take on the role of Doctor Fate, following in Dwayne Johnson's footsteps as a first-time superhero actor. That fact alone makes this news head-turning, to say the least, but what the character's DCEU arrival implies is even more intriguing.

Long before DC's Justice League came to be and Marvel's Avengers assembled, it was the responsibility of the Justice Society of America to keep the comic world safe. Created by Sheldon Mayer and Gardner Fox, the JSA made its debut in the early 1940s and broke new ground as the inaugural crime-fighting stable. It was initially comprised of lesser-known do-gooders like Mister Terrific, S.T.R.I.P.E., and, of course, Doctor Fate, but also featured such icons as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman too. As of this writing, it has yet to arrive at the cinema, but that may be about to change.

With the news that the so-called "Snyderverse" is a thing of the past (via SlashFilm), pointing to the dissolution of the DCEU's Justice League, now is as good a time as any to bring the Justice Society in as its successor. Black Adam boasts a roster of JSA members new and old alike, providing a foundation on which Warner Bros. can develop the team over time. Perhaps even current DCEU presences like Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett) and Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) can follow the lead of their comic counterparts and join the roster down the line.

At any rate, even if the Justice Society of America isn't on the way, Doctor Fate's debut in Black Adam is exciting enough on its own. The fact that a name as recognizable as Pierce Brosnan is set to don the Helmet of Nabu is just the icing on the cake.