CNN
—
DC Films fans were treated to new footage from “Black Adam” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, and stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Zachary Levi were both on hand with surprises up their superheroic sleeves.
Levi, who plays Shazam, led the first half of a panel that would later see Johnson, dressed in his Black Adam costume, appear to levitate while smoke and lightning surrounded him.
Read on for new details and plot teases from the upcoming films. (DC Films shares parent company Warner Bros. Discovery with CNN.)
In the trailer for the upcoming “Shazam!” sequel, Levi’s hero is in a funk. He compares himself to the most popular DC heroes, including Batman and Superman, who admittedly do have decades of fame and butt-kicking to their names.
“I don’t deserve these powers,” he muses. “What am I even contributing?”
(Quick “Shazam!” primer here: The hero is actually a teenage boy named Billy who transforms into adult superhero Shazam, played by Levi, who summons the power of multiple gods when he says his name aloud. His whining here makes more sense when you consider his true age.)
To lighten the mood, the trailer introduces Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren as villains “Daughters of Atlas,” who appear to want to take back the “power of all the gods” that Shazam and his teenage buddies “stole” to become adult superheroes.
We don’t know yet how Shazam and the gang will defeat these wicked women, but we do see a glimpse of Rachel Zegler (Maria in Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story”), whose character looks to be an instrumental part of the growing franchise.
The new “Black Adam” footage that Johnson dramatically introduced was somehow even moodier than that of the teenage Shazam: “My powers are not a gift but a curse,” Johnson’s Black Adam grumbles.
Later, after Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo and a winged Aldis Hodge appear in the trailer, Black Adam gets even gloomier: “The world needed a hero. Instead, it got me.”
Jeez, Adam; leave the brooding to Batman! The plot particulars of “Black Adam” are still mostly unknown, but we know from comics that Black Adam is an antihero or villain, depending on who you ask, who can also tap into Shazam powers. Both super-powered men bear the same lightning bolt on their uniforms, though Adam’s is sullied by mud, dirt and inner turmoil.
“Black Adam” will be released October 21, and exactly two months later, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” hits theaters.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Cosplayers dressed as horror movie icons attend Comic-Con in San Diego, California, on Friday, July 22.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Melissa Croft speaks on stage at “Ship-it Show Live” on Thursday, July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Christy Radecic/Invision/AP
The Tirado family shows off their Spider-Man and Venom-inspired costumes on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
A cosplayer dressed as Michael Myers from the “Halloween” movies rides the trolley on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images
People dressed in costumes walk near the San Diego Convention Center.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Bing Guan/Reuters
Attendees watch an episode of “Abbott Elementary” before a remote panel featuring the show’s cast on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Bing Guan/Reuters
An attendee dressed as a Jedi carries a lightsaber on the convention floor on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Christy Radecic/Invision/AP
Fiona Andaya wears her homemade animal mask on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Hayne Palmour IV/Shutterstock
People cross San Diego’s Harbor Drive on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
An attendee shows his phone to cosplayers dressed as Batman and Red Hood on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images
A man dressed as Pennywise, the clown from the film “It,” stands near the San Diego Convention Center on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Hayne Palmour IV/Shutterstock
Kristin Ringard, dressed as an undersea god, waves her fan outside of the San Diego Convention Center on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images
Nicholas Prior, dressed as the Last Stand Spider-Man, poses for a photo near the San Diego Convention Center on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images
People walk near the San Diego Convention Center on July 21.
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Bing Guan/Reuters
An attendee gestures July 21 while cosplaying as the Pale Man from the film “Pan’s Labyrinth.”
Photos: Comic-Con returns in San Diego
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Jay Acey, right, dressed as A-Train from the television series “The Boys,” mingles with Maddox Cruz outside the Comic-Con preview night on Wednesday, July 20.
