Black Adam is a 2022 American superhero film based on the DC character of the same name. Produced by New Line Cinema, DC Films, Seven Bucks Productions, and FlynnPictureCo. and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a spin-off from Shazam! (2019) and the eleventh film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a script by Adam Sztykiel and the writing team of Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, the film stars Dwayne Johnson as Teth-Adam / Black Adam, an ancient superhuman who is released from his magic imprisonment by a group of archeologists to free the nation of Kahndaq from the crime syndicate Intergang, whose local leader plans to obtain an ancient relic called the Crown of Sabbac to take control of it. Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Quintessa Swindell and Noah Centineo appear in supporting roles.

Johnson was attached to Shazam! early in development and confirmed to portray the villain Black Adam in September 2014, but the producers, at Johnson’s urging, later decided to give the character his own film. Sztykiel was hired in October 2017. Collet-Serra joined in June 2019 with a planned release date of December 2021, but this timeline was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional casting took place over the next year, including four members of the Justice Society of America, along with the script being rewritten by Haines and Noshirvani. Principal photography took place from April to August 2021 at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and also in Los Angeles.

In 2600 BC, the tyrannical king Ahk-Ton of Kahndaq enslaves his people to mine the mythical metal Eternium, using it to forge the Crown of Sabbac to attain power and invincibility. After attempting to stage a revolt against Ahk-Ton, a young slave boy is chosen as champion by the Council of Wizards, transforming him into an adult superhero. He kills Ahk-Ton, ending his reign.

In the present day, Kahndaq is oppressed by the criminal organization Intergang, as Adrianna Tomaz, an archaeologist, tries to locate the Crown of Sabbac with her brother Karim and colleagues Samir and Ishmael. Inside the tomb, Adrianna obtains the crown, but the Intergang troops kill Samir. As a last resort, she reads an incantation that awakens the superhuman warrior Teth-Adam from slumber. US government official Amanda Waller deems Adam a threat; after he slaughters the Intergang troops, she contacts the Justice Society to apprehend him. Justice Society members Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone and Atom Smasher stop Adam’s killing spree and explain to Adrianna that Adam was not a savior but an imprisoned killer.

Ishmael reveals himself as the leader of Intergang’s Kahndaq division and kidnaps Adrianna’s son Amon, who has hidden the crown, as Ishmael reveals himself to be the last descendant of Ahk-Ton. The group finds the crown and gives it back to save Amon. Ishmael attempts to shoot Amon, causing Adam to lose control, killing Ishmael and wounding Amon. Guilt-ridden, Adam flees and reveals to Hawkman that Kahndaq’s champion was actually his son Hurut, who was killed by Ahk-Ton’s assassins, who also had killed his mother. Having been given Hurut’s powers to save his life, Adam, blinded by grief and rage, murdered Ahk-Ton and destroyed his palace. Deemed unworthy by the Council of Wizards, Adam killed them all in retaliation except for Shazam, who imprisoned him along with the crown.

Feeling incapable of becoming a true hero, Adam surrenders and the Justice Society takes him to a secret underwater Task Force X black site in Antarctica, where Emilia Harcourt places him in stasis. Fate again has a premonition of Hawkman’s impending death. The Justice Society realizes Ishmael tricked Adam into killing him to be reborn as Sabbac, the champion of the six eponymous demons. When Sabbac summons the Legions of Hell to terrorize Kahndaq, the Justice Society unsuccessfully attempts to stop Sabbac. Fate believes that Hawkman’s death can be avoided with his sacrifice and fights Sabbac alone. Fate uses astral projection to release Adam before he is killed by Sabbac.