In Black Adam, the Justice Society will band together to fight the Anti-Hero played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. When Black Adam awakens in the present-day, the Man in Black’s awesome powers become a threat to the world.

This means Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan) must assemble the Justice Society to stop Black Adam.

Screen Rant joined a Black Adam trailer event previewing the release of the film’s second spot. In a roundtable discussion, we chatted with Black Adam stars Aldis Hode (Hawkman), Quintessa Swindell (Cyclone), Sarah Shahi (Adrianna Tomaz), and Mohammed Amer (Karim Tomaz), about what to expect from their superhero characters. Read selected quotes from the discussion below.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Screen Rant: There have been other versions of Hawkman in live-action and none of them have been quite right. What was exciting for you to bring Hawkman, as he’s supposed to be, to the big screen?

Aldis Hodge: There is a lot of history to figure out about where to start with this character. Talking to Jaume [the director] about what the direction of the narrative was, it really came down to what we know and love as his fans, but then also where we find him with Black Adam in this space. Where we start is a great place for people who know and love [Hawkman] and what [Black Adam] is. But [it’s also great for people] who are looking to discover, when it comes to the Justice Society, who we are and how we live in this world with Black Adam.

If you’re a fan, you’re going to get what you want, you’re going to get what you need. If you’re not a fan, if you don’t know anything about this, you’re going to get everything you need to know to learn about what this [character] is. And you’re going to become a fan. So for me, they started this character and this team in the exact right spot for making this whole thing just take off.

Screen Rant: I’m super excited to see the Justice Society on screen. Now, we’ve seen the Avengers, we’ve seen the X-Men, we’ve even seen the Justice League.

Aldis Hodge: Who are they? (laughs)

Screen Rant: What, in your opinion, makes the Justice Society different and even better than what we’ve seen so far with the other movie superhero teams?

Mohammed Amer: The Justice Society has existed much longer in the comic books. It was the first team in the comic book universe. I think it’s just so fascinating to see them all finally come to life and done so well.

Sarah Shahi: There’s a lot of humor with them too. Jaume would work with you guys, with all of us, to make a moment funny but also to make sure that it doesn’t stick out. He brought to light things that weren’t on the page or things that I didn’t see. They’re funnier. I’m just really excited for you guys to be able to experience [Black Adam] even just as a comedy. Yes, it’s dark too but it’s very adult in that sense that it really can offer you the comedy and the drama at the same time equally.

Aldis Hodge: There’s a great balance of tone. That’s the thing that I found most impressive. Just that the tone is right. Like Sarah said, It is dark but not depressing. There’s levity where you balance out the humor, but it’s not caricature or silly.

So there’s stories, real rooted stories, and real rooted ambition for everybody. There’s hope and loss on all sides. And the thing that is synonymous for every character is growth. Every character is on a path. After growth and evolution, which we seemingly find, and everybody gets their shot [in] the JSA.

Hawkman does what he does, he thinks he knows what he knows. But then through this story, he has an elevated perspective of what he believes in with Cyclone and Atom Smasher [Noah Centineo]. They’re coming into the fold, but they’re also sort of grandfathered in, because they come from lineages of superhero legacy and their families. So now they’re stepping up to the plate in their own way, coming out of the shadow, [after] what’s gone on with their families, but they’re coming into finding who they are in this space. So the JSA… we are finding ourselves in camaraderie and, to a degree, finding ourselves [as a] family.

With Dr. Fate [and Hawkman], that’s a long, long friendship. There’s a lot of love there. There’s a real brotherhood there. And they’re [asking] what is the right thing to do [about Black Adam]? Because Dr. Fate is sort of like a conscience for Hawkman. So, in terms of your question, honestly, don’t put us up against any of the other teams that we’ve seen before, because this is a very much refreshing new look at what a superhero team is, as we come together into this space. You know, it’s a whole new experience. So I think that that’s what you’re going to enjoy the most about it.

Mohammed Amer: I personally love the story. All superheroes are based off [of] super rationality, super prophetic understanding. There’s the orphan, there’s the kid that’s lost and finds his way that becomes champion, and this is similar, but yet very different. [Khandaq] is also a country that is a fictionalized Middle East. That’s something we’ve never seen before. When you talk about global politics and what exists today, it’s very fascinating to see how this film could come to light after so many years of misunderstanding and not knowing what the global landscape is, and [this] makes [Black Adam] substantially different.

We saw Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) in the trailer. Where does the Justice Society fit in with the Justice League and the Suicide Squad?

Aldis Hodge: We came first. Let’s get that straight. Justice Society was very first superhero team in the existence of ever!

Could you give a little insight on how each of your characters react to Black Adam? And how does your character feel about Black Adam?

Mohammed Amer: I’m terrified of him. So he’s scary, but you also feel very connected to him in some weird way. Specifically for our characters, Sarah and I. But we just don’t know what we just were encountering. What’s happening here? We know that underneath it all, there’s a purity [to Black Adam] that we’re trying to get to. But do we want to get zapped? (laughs) So there’s just a lot of unknowns. And I think the balance is just understanding that there’s something powerful happening [with Black Adam], and we want to get to it, but yet [we’re] scared to encounter it too much.

Sarah Shahi: My character in the film [Adrianna Tomaz], she’s sort of the leader of this resistance movement. There’s a big oppressive gang that’s coming after the country [of Khandaq] and I’m in charge of getting the troops together to defeat them. She’s almost like an Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft kind of character.

When Black Adam is awakened, Adriana [is] very excited by the fact that he’s there but meets him with a lot of trepidation at the same time. But she kind of becomes the Black Adam wrangler, in a sense.

Quintessa Swindell: For Cyclone, because she’s the newcomer on the team along with Atom Smasher, it’s this experience of knowing about Hawkman, and seeing the things that he’s done, and seeing superheroes as being [about] right and there’s wrong, where there’s no gray area. And I think when she’s introduced to Black Adam, over the course of the film, there’s kind of like this bubbling question that happens of: Are we on the right side? And is good and ba so black and white? Or is there kind of this gray area that you can function within that isn’t necessarily indicative of how we [perceive] justice? Are there other means that we can receive justice that works for this community and this group [in Khandaq] that’s faced such hardship? So that kind of shifts.

Aldis Hodge: Black Adam and Hawkman, they clash. Not exactly buddies. This is oil and water. We are not ebony and ivory. But to Q’s point, Hawkman has his own sense of what justice is. Especially as he’s been through different stages with the Justice Society and leading the team, he has to walk by a code. As he leads these other people, [he wants them to] walk that very same pathway, by his morals, ethics, and his code.

Black Adam does what he wants based on what he believes in. [He] doesn’t care. As long as he gets his job done. The way he’s built, he feels there’s an understanding of justice, but there’s a different perspective on how to get that justice. So that’s where Black Adam and Hawkman really clash. There’s a feeling of: I get you. I see where you’re at. I understand what you’re trying to do. I don’t agree with how you’re doing it. But because they are both very much feral warriors, there’s an understanding. I don’t know if there’s exactly a kinship yet in the beginning, but there’s respect for [each other]. “I see you. You see me. Now, what are we going to do about this?” And that’s where you get the fun. That’s where you get the tussle.

Black Adam Synopsis

Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods — and imprisoned just as quickly — Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

Catch our previous interviews with the cast of Black Adam at SDCC, as well as with Dwayne Johnson for Jungle Cruise & Jumanji: The Next Level, and with Aldis Hodge for One Night in Miami and The Invisible Man.

Black Adam releases October 21 in theaters.