At some point movies will get back underway, and when they do one of the biggest to watch will be the Shazam! spin-off Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson. That film has now cast one more hero: Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher. Though it’s likely you haven’t heard of him considering a lot of people haven’t even heard of Black Adam, the character plays a central role in Black Adam’s story.
Centineo will join Johnson and director Jaume Collet-Serra in the film whenever it gets around to shooting and probably plays a large role. In the comics, Atom Smasher acts as Black Adam’s conscience. Originally Shazam’s nemesis, the character of Black Adam has become more of an antihero over the years, eventually joining the Justice Society where he met Atom Smasher. The pair then joined together as Black Adam returned to his home country and took control of it. It is unknown if any of this will make it into the film’s story, but it gives an idea of Centineo’s character playing a kind of sidekick role in the film.
Noah Centineo himself is skyrocketing towards stardom after the great success of Netflix’s To All the Boys I Loved Before. He’s got an affable charm that should play well off of Johnson’s own undeniable charisma and fit nicely into the slightly comedic world that New Line and DC are building around Shazam!.
Black Adam is currently scheduled for release on Dec. 22, 2021, though that could be pushed if production can’t get underway. Shazam! 2 has already been delayed.
