'Suicide Squad 2' May Intro The Rock's Black Adam (Exclusive)

“Suicide Squad 2” may serve as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s introduction to the DC Universe as the super-villain Black Adam, two insiders familiar with the idea told TheWrap.

The insiders told TheWrap that the current plan for the sequel is for the members of Suicide Squad to be tasked with tracking down a weapon of mass destruction. That weapon? Black Adam himself. The villain is best known in DC Comics as the main nemesis of superhero Shazam.

“The Rock” first hinted at what’s cooking in May, when he told Fandango, “We have a really cool surprise for Black Adam that I can’t reveal, in terms of where we will see Black Adam being introduced.”

Also Read: Dwayne Johnson to Star in DC 'Black Adam' Spin-Off

“Suicide Squad 2” is scheduled for an October 2018 production start, and The Rock’s busy schedule during that time includes a potential fifth season of HBO’s “Ballers,” Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” and his “Fast and Furious” spin-off with Jason Statham.

But “Suicide Squad 2” shouldn’t be too much of a scheduling issue, because Black Adam’s part shouldn’t take much time to shoot, the insiders said.

Johnson has been attached to play the character since 2008, but there is currently no writer or filmmaker attached to “Black Adam.”

Earlier this year, Johnson teased a meeting with DC Films co-head Geoff Johns, promising “hope, optimism & FUN.”

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Gavin O’Connor is expected to write and possibly direct “Suicide Squad 2,” an individual with knowledge of the project tells TheWrap.

The first “Suicide Squad,” which starred Will Smith and Margot Robbie, earned nearly $750 million worldwide on a $175 million budget before promotion and advertising. The film holds an abysmal 25 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes… but that was without the power of The Rock.

Johnson is represented by Viewpoint and WME.

A representative for Warner Bros. declined to comment and representatives for Johnson did not immediately respond to TheWraps’s request for comment.

13 Worst Movies of 2016, From 'Suicide Squad' to 'Trolls' (Photos)

In other years, when I've sat down to write my list of the worst movies of the previous 12 months, many titles came rushing to mind, and sometimes even editing the list down to 10 was a challenge. Say what you will about 2016, I had to sit down and comb the records of what I'd seen before picking out the lousiest movies that the year had to offer. Except for "Warcraft." I immediately thought of "Warcraft." Here, then, is my list of the 2016's most awful films, listed alphabetically (except that "Warcraft" is the absolute worst).
"Alice Through the Looking Glass"

In a year riddled with sequels that nobody asked for -- looking at you, "The Huntsman: Winter's War" -- Disney's second live-action dip into the world of Lewis Carroll was an eye-punishing time-waster that felt hastily conceived and indifferently acted.

Disney
"Believe" / "God's Not Dead 2"

Faith-based movies ran the gamut in terms of quality and production value this year, but these two deserve condemnation not only for their pedestrian acting and thoughtless cinematography but also for pushing messages (Crush your enemies! Starve your workers!) that would get a thumbs-down from the Messiah they're ostensibly promoting.
"Genius"

In a year when "Paterson" seemed to crack the code of how to make writing look compelling on screen, we also got this film, which failed in its mission of finding any kind of drama in book-editing, even when that editor is Maxwell Perkins (Colin Firth) attempting to prune the prose of Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) to a manageable size.
"Gods of Egypt" / "X-Men: Apocalypse"

These two pyramid schemes took the deities of ancient Egypt and turned them into stick figures bumbling through idiotic, inane adventures.
"Keeping Up With the Joneses"

Watching Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot trying to make chicken salad out of this movie was like sitting through an NBA game where the Chicago Bulls have anvils chained to their legs.

Also Read: ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’ Review: Jon Hamm and Zach Galifianakis Waste Their Time, and Ours
"Nina"

2016 was loaded with biopics good, bad and indifferent of music legends (Miles Davis, Hank Williams, Chet Baker), but this risible portrait of the great Nina Simone was genuinely painful, embarrassing and misguided.
Also Read: ‘Trolls’ Review: Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick Are Floppin’ to the Oldies
"Suicide Squad" / "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice"

"Grim and gritty" is as valid a formula for superhero movies as any, but "dumb and bloated" isn't a good look, and it's the one that Warner Bros. apparently embraced for this year's DC Comics adaptations.

Warner Bros.
"Trolls"

One of its characters literally pooped glitter, which is as good a metaphor as any for a film so assaultive on the eyes (the color scheme was a rainbow nightmare) and ears (thanks so much for the misbegotten pop covers, music producer Justin Timberlake).
"War Dogs"

Or "White Privilege: The Movie." Jonah Hill (who must have thrown Golden Globes voters one heck of a lunch) and Miles Teller played entitled dudes who made and lost their money as would-be arms dealers. The movie never quite decided what it thought of that.

Also Read: ‘War Dogs’ Review: Miles Teller and Jonah Hill Shoot Blanks
"Warcraft"

This digital-effects-heavy videogame adaptation was all zeroes and no ones. Loud, ugly and pointless - but hey, it was huge in China, so get ready for the inevitable sequel.

Also Read: ‘Warcraft’ Review: Swords, Sorcery and Stupidity Abound in Game Adaptation
Now be sure to check out Alonso Duralde's list of the 10 best movies of the year.

Also Read: 11 Best Movies of 2016, From ‘La La Land’ to ‘Queen of Katwe’ (Photos)

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TheWrap critic Alonso Duralde picks the clunkers that made 2016 a challenge for movie lovers

In other years, when I've sat down to write my list of the worst movies of the previous 12 months, many titles came rushing to mind, and sometimes even editing the list down to 10 was a challenge. Say what you will about 2016, I had to sit down and comb the records of what I'd seen before picking out the lousiest movies that the year had to offer. Except for "Warcraft." I immediately thought of "Warcraft." Here, then, is my list of the 2016's most awful films, listed alphabetically (except that "Warcraft" is the absolute worst).

View In Gallery

13 Worst Movies of 2016, From 'Suicide Squad' to 'Trolls' (Photos)

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