Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has unveiled an ominous new look at his debut as DC antihero Black Adam, with the action movie icon once again teasing a shift in the hierarchy of power. Johnson has been waiting for a long, long time to finally suit up as Black Adam, and audiences will at last able to see him unleash super-powered fury next year.

"'You're right. Superheroes don't kill bad people. But I do.' ~ #BlackAdam,” a caption alongside the new image begins. “The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is changing. I'm pumped to share with you our new @TotalFilm subscriber cover. Newsstand cover DROPS NEXT 12/9 #TotalFilm #2022Preview #TheManInBlack.” The image shows The Rock with a deadly look in his eye, which, according to the actor himself, is rather apt, as, unlike most other superheroes, Black Adam is more than happy to kill whoever he considers to be "bad."

After so, so many years of waiting, Black Adam will see Dwayne Johnson as Teth-Adam AKA Black Adam, an antihero from Kahndaq who is imprisoned for 5,000 years. After casting off the shackles of enslavement, Teth-Adam is chosen by the wizard Shazam to harness the powers of the ancient Egyptian Gods. S for the stamina of Shu, H for the swiftness of Horus, A for the strength of Amon, Z for the wisdom of Zehuti, A for the power of Aten, and M for the courage of Mehen, Black Adam goes on to become the archenemy of the superhero Shazam and his super-powered family.

This is not the first time that one of the creatives behind Black Adam has teased the titular character’s penchant for killing, with producer Hiram Garcia having previously revealed that the movie will push the boundaries of its PG-13 rating. "Black Adam is edgy, right? That's gonna be a PG-13 movie where it was very much like, say, The Dark Knight, where that pushed the edges of PG-13,” Garcia said. “I think we do that very much with Black Adam. We have a very high kill count in our movie."

Director Jaume Collet-Serra has also hinted at Black Adam’s violent streak, comparing the DC antihero to Dirty Harry no less, something which he could not wait to see The Rock bring to life. "Basically, turning him into Clint Eastwood in a Western. I was like, 'You're like the Dirty Harry of superheroes,'” the filmmaker explained. “I didn't have to convince people that I was right for this one in the same way that I did for Jungle Cruise. It's like things I've done with Liam [Neeson], that tough-guy antihero who has a heart. The world is not black and white. The world is in gray areas, so you need these people that are riding that gray area."

Alongside The Rock’s antihero, the movie will also introduce several other DC icons, including Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, many of which will no doubt come face-to-fist with Black Adam’s deadly rage. Black Adam is scheduled to be released in movie theaters in the United States on July 29, 2022.