Sarah Shahi is busy promoting her new Netflix series Sex/Life, but she is also in the midst of filming the DC Comics movie Black Adam and she appears to have a major role in the pic. She is playing Adrianna Tomaz, a character who, in the comics, becomes the superhero Isis… although they probably won’t use that name, since that pesky terrorist organization coopted it.
As she disclosed:
“I play a character named Adrianna, and she’s a freedom fighter that’s leading this big resistance against an evil, malicious group called Intergang.”
I believe this will be the first use of Intergang in the movies, but this is a major criminal organization from the comics, featuring gangsters powered by technology from Apokolips.
Of course, Shahi can’t go into too much detail, but her description of the set at least teases what fans can expect.
“It’s a fun set. It’s a much different thing being a part of a big blockbuster movie and then shooting a TV show. You move much slower. But the sets and the locations are just out of this world; it’s make-believe to the nth degree. I had a moment the other day on set where I was just pinching myself; it was unreal. This is the whole reason why I got into this business.”
Sarah Shahi has had a long and successful career on television, having starred on The L Word, Life, Person of Interest, Chicago Fire, City on a Hill, and The Rookie. She has ventured into film in projects like Old School, Crossing Over (with Harrison Ford), I Don’t Know How She Does It, Bullet to the Head, and more, but Black Adam is a massive step up in terms of scale and grandeur.
As Shahi stated:
“Well, it’s a big deal for a lot of reasons. I’m getting the chance to work with Dwayne, who happens to be one of the kindest humans ever. And it’s admirable to watch him be the businessman and the actor that he is. He treats everybody on set so well. When he speaks to you, it’s like you’re the only person in the room. Everyone should take a lesson from his book because he’s quite remarkable to witness and to be on set with. He’s the real deal, through and through. So not only is it cool for that, but I’m Middle Eastern; I’m Persian. And there’s not a lot of Middle Eastern representation out there, so being in a movie like this really helps make a statement for my culture and where I come from. There are other Middle Eastern actors that I know who are either getting cast in terrorist roles or they’re really being stereotyped by how they look. So I’m hoping that, on some level, Black Adam will help break open that stereotype. And hopefully, Hollywood will become more colorblind in a way, and will open itself up to more Middle Eastern actors and storylines. And on top of that, this is the first thing I’ve been a part of that my kids can actually watch. (Laughs.) So that’s nice.”
The character Isis is inspired by the Egyptian goddess. The first superhero version was not created by DC, but rather Filmation, as a female-fronted companion series for its live-action hit Shazam! That series was alternately known as Isis and The Secrets of Isis. DC Comics did publish an accompanying comic book, but it was not set in the primary DC Universe. This Isis could control the elements with rhyming incantations.
Fan love for the character persisted and in 2006, Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, and Grant Morrison collaborated to introduce a DC version of the character, changing her secret identity from “Andrea Thomas” (as used on the Filmation show) to Adrianna Tomaz. This version of Isis also had power over the elements, but didn’t need to recite an incantation. She also had much vaster abilities, able to manipulate almost every aspect of nature.
Joanna Cameron starred in The Secrets of Isis. In one episode of Smallville, Lois Lane (Erica Durance) became possessed by the spirit of Isis. Tala Ashe portrays a version of Adrianna, called Zari, on Legends of Tomorrow.
Jaume Collet-Serra (Disney’s Jungle Cruise) is directing Black Adam. In addition to Johnson, the film stars Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan as Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate, as well as Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer, Bodhi Sabongui, Mo Amer, and Uli Latukefu.
Black Adam is scheduled to open in theaters on July 29, 2022.
