The official theme from the upcoming DCEU movie Black Adam has been released. The DCEU (or DC Extended Universe) is a franchise from Warner Bros. adapted from the characters originated in DC Comics, providing an interconnected universe that includes the characters from the Justice League, namely Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman. Also a part of the DCEU in various capacities are Shazam, the Suicide Squad, the Birds of Prey, and the soon-to-be-introduced heroes Blue Beetle and, of course, Black Adam.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) will make his DCEU debut in theaters on October 21, in a film helmed by The Shallows and Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra. The project will follow the titular antihero, a former slave given godlike powers and imprisoned for thousands of years. The character was originally introduced in the comics as a villain for Shazam. Black Adam will fall in with the Justice Society of America, which includes Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and they will try to help him reform and become a hero as a terrifying enemy surfaces. The cast also includes Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, and Bodhi Sabongui.
This week, WaterTower Music shared the official theme from Black Adam by composer Lorne Balfe. Balfe, who has previously scored projects including Prime Video's The Wheel of Time, Black Widow, and The Lego Batman Movie, is clearly carving out a sound for the character that feels different from previous DCEU projects, which have largely been driven by Junkie XL's hard rock scores. This score still features a propulsive drum beat, but a much more orchestral arrangement that uses an almost gothic choir of voices to drive the energy through the roof. Check out the theme below:
How Black Adam Is Expected to Change the DCEU
The DCEU is currently in a state of flux, as there hasn't been a feature film from the franchise released since The Suicide Squad in August 2021 (although March's The Batman was a hit, it's technically not part of the DCEU). With the big ticket sequels Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom being repeatedly delayed, HBO Max's Batgirl being scrapped entirely, and The Flash's future in limbo due to the highly publicized misbehavior of star Ezra Miller, the franchise needs a strong hook to pull it into the future. Black Adam is likely going to be their make-it-or-break-it ploy toward ushering in a new chapter.
The way that Black Adam will accomplish this is likely secretly hidden in this theme release. The score snippet likely reveals a lot about the film's intentions, revealing that it preserves the seriousness of the films from the Snyderverse era of the DCEU but evolves that feeling into a more classically cinematic, bombastic tone. While it still seems that DC is interested in being the anti-Marvel, rejecting their sardonic sense of humor, they are also allowing themselves to play in new thematic spaces and explore how far they can push themselves to expand their universe in every direction.