While “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” on HBO Max shows an epic vision of what might have been, in Warner’s canon for the DC Extended Universe superhero franchise, the setting takes off only from the original 2017 movie cut by Joss Whedon. Post-“JL” the DCEU has focused on solo hero films like “Shazam” and “Aquaman,” and even “Birds of Prey” had Harley Quinn as the focus character. Speaking of her, the upcoming “Black Adam” movie is not even about a superhero, but a formidable opponent of Shazam’s to be portrayed by Dwayne Johnson. Recently-announced as a new cast addition is a former James Bond actor, to play a magician of fate.

Comic Book Resources has it that Pierce Brosnan is joining the cast of Warner Bros. DCEU entry “Black Adam,” under director Jaume Collet-Serra. He will be portraying DC supernatural hero Doctor Fate, who will be depicted here as a member of the Justice Society of America, a group of superheroes from the early 20th Century who will be prominent characters in this film. He is the latest actor to be cast just before filming for the project commences this April, after the original start back in July 2020 was COVID-cancelled.

Brosnan was James Bond from 1995’s “Goldeneye” to 2002’s “Die Another Day” (plus some Bond videogames where he lent his likeness and voice). There is no hint as to what version his character is, for Doctor Fate is a shared identity of several heroes since comic books in 1940, and across various media. A common element is the Helmet of Fate that the character wears, in which the spirit of the wizard Nabu resides, giving the wearer great magical abilities but with Nabu potentially taking over their body until death.

In addition to Pierce Brosnan and Dwayne Johnson as the titular character, “Black Adam” also stars Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge, Quintessa Swindell, Marwan Kenzari and Sarah Shahi. It is about a former, ancient-era recipient of the power of Shazam who becomes corrupted by his abilities and becomes a tyrant, later battling his modern-day replacements while occasionally dipping into anti-heroism. The movie has yet to be given a release date by Warner. Shazam on the other hand, which got a film in 2019, has a direct sequel lined up for 2023.

Image courtesy of Comic Book.com