Dwayne Johnson confirms Black Adam will start filming in 2020

Dwayne Johnson will begin filming his long-awaited comic book movie Black Adam next year.

The flick, to be set in the DC Extended Universe franchise, will tell the story of the complex anti-hero, who is the arch-nemesis of fellow DC Comics character Shazam.

While Johnson has remained tight-lipped about the project for some time, he recently shared a picture of a stunning model of Black Adam made by a sculptor on his Twitter page, and in the accompanying caption, praised the artist and also announced the start date for the film.

"I was so excited for @TheRock to play #BlackAdam that I sculpted him as the character in 1/5 scale," Twitter user @TheKingsletter wrote alongside a black-and-white snap of his creation.

"Very cool man, thank you. Amazing detail. This project has been with me for over 10yrs (sic). Production begins this July. Appreciate the support," the wrestler-turned-actor replied.

Back in January 2017, it was revealed that Johnson would be playing the anti-hero, and he was due to appear in last year's Shazam! movie, starring Zachary Levi as the titular superhero, but studio bosses decided the character deserved a feature of his own.

Black Adam has been in and out of development for years, and the 47-year-old was even offered the role of Shazam before Levi signed on.

In the original comic books, he was called Teth-Adam or Mighty Adam and began as a hero of humanity, but then fell victim to corruption. Now, he's labelled Black Adam and was exiled by Shazam, but has returned in the modern day to clear his name.

A director has not yet been found for the highly anticipated project, however, Johnson will produce alongside Beau Flynn, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia.