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Dwayne Johnson and DC Comics’ ‘Black Adam’ Adds Sarah Shahi

Sarah Shahi has joined Dwayne Johnson in New Line/DC’s upcoming superhero film “Black Adam.”

Shahi will play a university professor and freedom fighter leading the resistance in the fictional nation of Kahndaq. Producers have previously announced that Aldis Hodge has been cast as Hawkman and Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher — both members of DC’s Justice Society.

Shahi is currently shooting the Netflix series “Sex/Life.” Her credits include the Showtime series “City on a Hill,” “The Rookie,” “Reverie,” “Person of Interest,” “The L Word” and “Fairly Legal.”

Jaume Collet-Serra, who also directed Johnson in Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” will helm “Black Adam.” Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions are producing with Beau Flynn of FlynnPictureCo, along with executive producer Scott Sheldon.

Johnson has been attached to play the anti-hero for several years. “Black Adam” takes place in the same DC Universe as Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Shazam!” starring Zachary Levy, which grossed $365 million worldwide last year. Shazam and Black Adam are arch rivals in the DC Universe.

The Black Adam character first appeared in DC Comics during the 1940s as a villain who had been corrupted by power, then became an anti-hero in the early 2000s with a disregard for rules and conventions. New Line and DC have kept details of the “Black Adam” story line under wraps. Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani wrote the latest draft of the film.

Warner Bros. had set “Black Adam’s” release date for Dec. 22, 2021, but recently took it off the release calendar and has not yet dated the movie.

Shahi is repped by CAA and McKeon Myones Entertainment. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

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