DUBAI: Mo Amer couldn’t sleep. After more than 20 years in show business, the Palestinian-American comedian and actor’s moment had come — he had finally earned the biggest opportunity of his career: a role in the $200 million DC superhero blockbuster film “Black Adam.”
The next morning, he was filming a scene with one of his childhood heroes, Pierce Brosnan — a former James Bond — and his overwhelming joy ended up netting him four scattered hours of sleep before he rushed to set, running on adrenaline, ready for anything.
Well, anything but the scene itself.
“I was so excited to work with Pierce, I had forgotten to memorize my lines,” Amer says to Arab News with a laugh.
Sarah Shahi and Mo Amer in ‘Black Adam.’ (Warner Bros. Pictures)
He wasn’t the only one excited. While “Black Adam” is the start of a bold new future for the DC Extended Universe as it evolves past Batman and Superman and introduces a host of new characters, it’s the result of more than a decade of tireless work, all starting when Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson first expressed his interest in taking on the titular anti-hero, inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology and first appearing in comics in 1945.
“It’s been a long journey, one that has been fueled with passion, with commitment, and with grit,” says Johnson.
For those that worked alongside Johnson over the course of the journey, including producers Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn, that made that first day on set, as Johnson walked in wearing the iconic black suit with a gold lightning bolt emblazoned on its chest for the first time, a genuinely emotional one.
“It felt like a milestone for us. From the initial idea to the lengthy development process, we have worked tirelessly to bring Black Adam to life on the big screen. To see that hard work, culminate in him walking on stage as Black Adam was truly a moment I’ll never forget,” says Garcia.
“I still get chills thinking about it,” adds Flynn. “What a moment.”
Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone in ‘Black Adam.’ (Warner Bros. Pictures)
While the film positions Johnson as a potential anchor for DC in the way that Robert Downey Jr. was for the first decade of Marvel, it also introduces a group of characters who also debuted back in the ‘Golden Age’ of comic books of the 1940s — the Justice Society of America — all of whom the film sets up for adventures of their own.
“There are many paths we’ve identified that we can go with these characters,” says Flynn, “Including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo). Not to mention how many characters and worlds Black Adam touches.”
For each of those actors, that made this experience especially formative, knowing they have the chance to make themselves generational stars if the hugely ambitious film achieves its potential.
Getting them through that was the leadership of Johnson, who created an environment in which people from very different walks of life felt safe to be themselves amongst each other, something that is pivotal to a great performance.
“It’s the biggest blessing,” says Swindell. “I felt so cared for in this process, especially by Dwayne. He’s so personable, and he really listens. He makes people feel really special.”
Johnson’s kindness was valuable, but it was his indefatigable commitment that pushed everyone from the first moment.
“I’ll give you an example,” says Garcia. “We had an idea of what Black Adam needed to look like, and, with that in mind, Dwayne dedicated two years to a training regimen to physically embody this character. And that’s on top of the research he did to immerse himself in Black Adam’s comic book lore. It was a massive undertaking, but his drive and focus were paramount. His spirit, his Mana, and his devotion, are second to none.”
Johnson and Co. also took steps to be sure that the character’s Arab roots were respected, although the film moved his Egyptian comic book origins to the fictional Arab city of Kahndaq. Amer — the creator and star of the semi-autobiographical Netflix hit series “Mo” — has long been outspoken about Arab representation, and ensured that he would not be a token character fulfilling Arab stereotypes. Instead, he is the heart of the film.
“Not only did he crush this role, but he also became one of our highest testing characters. His comedic nature provided the perfect amount of levity to a film that we rooted in edge and darkness. Audiences are going to love him,” says Flynn.
“We were really trying to make something that is potent, new and fresh,” says Amer. “There was never a token Arab joke I had to change. Everyone was conscious from day one. It was so refreshing. I can’t even tell you. I get emotional because I’ve been in this game a long time. In every way, I never experienced anything like this. It’s truly incredible.”