Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam Costume Had All The Fake Muscle Padding Cut Out

Superhero movies are a funny business. Fans will demand that only the most unrealistically buff and unimaginably ripped actors embody all their most favorite heroes, despite the fact that superpowers are inherently divorced from realism and don't necessarily need to have anything to do with muscle size. Kumail Nanjiani recently went through this himself with his body transformation to portray Kingo in "Eternals" and Robert Pattinson, hilariously enough, sparked all sorts of ridiculous controversy for joking in his own dry, tongue-in-cheek way that he refused to work out for Batman.

When it comes to "Black Adam," though, Dwayne Johnson isn't treating this as a joking matter at all, no sir. You see, the endearingly meat-headed star has been attached to this comic character longer than most marriages tend to last, which means he's pulling out all the stops to make sure that this film lines up with each and every one of his inner fanboy requirements ... no matter how silly they may seem. At the top of the list, apparently, was removing any and all padding that was originally part of the Black Adam suit. Wouldn't want anyone to think that The Rock didn't go above and beyond to show off his hard-earned physique, now would we?

When an actor has been circling a particular project for as long as Dwayne Johnson has with "Black Adam," I suppose it only makes sense that he would feel a massive sense of ownership over the role. This apparently extended to the very outfit that Black Adam wears in the upcoming DC film. As The Rock told Total Film, however, the very first time he put it on didn't go very well:

"These are the best costume-makers in the business, who have done all the most amazing costumes. They're so talented. They come over to the house. I put it on. And I f***ing hate this costume. Everything was padded. So they immediately start tearing and cutting and ripping. When I put that costume on the second time with no padding, just cut in a way where it was enhancing the work that I had put in — I felt... I'm Black Adam."

He goes on to say that, "I wanted to come in not only in the best shape of my career, but also in the kind of shape that was befitting of an unstoppable supervillain who becomes an antihero." Johnson has not been shy about how proud he is that he's putting his own definitive stamp on Black Adam, even where matters of outright killing bad people are concerned. The wrestler-turned-actor talked at length recently about how much he enjoys that "...his pain and rage comes from loss, and was fueled by oppression." If The Rock is to be believed, this particular addition to superhero movies won't be for the faint of heart. Just don't call his suit padded, if you know what's good for you!

"Black Adam" is scheduled to arrive on July 29, 2022.