Fortnite has got to be the game that has the most collaborations at this point. Over the years, Epic has partnered up with companies, artists, and publishers to bring all sorts of characters from existing franchises. Joining the likes of Darth Vader, Goku, Spider-Man, and Master Chief, Dwayne Johnson—aka The Rock—has gone to Twitter to announce that a new Black Adam skin will be available in the Fortnite Item Shop. While it may not be surprising to some of you that the character is headed to Fortnite as part of the battle royale’s pop culture crossover, you’ll be intrigued to know that it took a long time to get to where it’s at now. That’s because The Rock has been attached to the Black Adam film (and character) for over 15 years.
Wait, Isn’t Dwayne Johnson Already In Fortnite?
That is correct; The Framework, a skin that has been accessible to Fortnite users that had the Chapter 3: Season 1 Battle Ticket, was the first Dwayne Johnson addition to the game. Another DC movie Black Adam, which shares the character ‘s moniker, will feature him in a different capacity subsequently on in the month.
The film itself took a long time in the development department. If we go as far back as 2007, the actor was already attached to play as Black Adam in the DC movie featuring Shazam (also known as Captain Marvel). A lot happened in that 15-year timeline; the project stalled out in 2009 and then restarted in 2014 with The Rock still attached to the project. Eventually, DC decided to split Shazam and Black Adam into two different projects. Johnson stated that the two heroes would meet on screen in a future film—who knows? Maybe that film will be released this decade? Until then, players with Fortnite accounts will just have to be satisfied with playing as Black Adam in the battle royale.
Getting Into the Details
Dwayne Johnson posted a clip of Black Adam slipping from the sky along with his surprise tweet on Twitter. This is similar to what other combat royale participants do in regular matches after departing the fight bus. One can see finer details, like the gold sparkles in the black cloth of his batman suit, when you zoom closer. Black Adam’s cape’s insignia, which reveals a lighting light that functions somewhat as a responsive back bling, is also visible. Whereas if gold wasn’t plenty for you, Black Adam’s outfit is adorned with a golden lightning strike on the top. Exciting Games displayed the skin both with and without a helmet, indicating that at least one variation is possible.
If we look at the short clip of the skin from Dwayne’s tweet, Black Adam is displayed hovering above the surface with what seems to be lightning dust (?) flowing down his arm. These may be mere effects that Fortnite added to make the skin more like a DC character, but you can’t deny that it does at a nice touch of color to the brooding antihero in black.
Likewise to Black Adam, several previously released figures come with packages that include even more aesthetics and gadgets. If you’re the sort of player that likes to buy things in bulk, then you’ll be happy to know that other Black Adam-themed items will also be available in the Fortnite Item Shop. For starters, you can snag Black Adam’s massive mace as a melee weapon. You can also grab the emote, where he’ll sit down on a broken throne of stones with a look that could kill. If you look closely at the emote, it features the silhouette of Jonesy—not Black Adam. This means that the emote could potentially not be locked to the skin; you could purchase and use it on other skins.
It’s currently unclear whether these additional cosmetic items will be sold exclusively in a bundle or separately. Still, at least the option of having extra goodies for Black Adam is there.
A Brilliant Move For Marketing
Although Dwayne Johnson appears to be producing all of the content for the forthcoming DC movie by himself, audience interest seems to be relatively poor. What good approach is there to pique interest in the film you will be appearing in? Obviously, launch a Fortnite skin— which will undoubtedly maintain the kids’ interest. If that’s not a great way for folks to tune into the film’s world premiere, then we don’t know what is.
When Will the Black Adam Skin Be Available?
The Black Adam movie will be released worldwide on October 21, but players will be happy to know they can pick up the new cosmetics from the Fortnite Item Shop using their Fortnite accounts on October 20. Black Adam’s inclusion in the gameplay would give us two Dwayne Johnson costumes to pick among. Whether you’re in the mood to be a dark Rock or a mech-robot Rock, the choice is ultimately yours.
