I called this happening after the Cavil-Superman announcement. Dwayne Johnson has just revealed that he and James Gunn had a meeting over the future of Black Adam in the new DC…and it looks like it doesn’t involve The Rock.
I’m not trying to gloat, but this development was as predictable as the Black Adam movie being as boring as it was.
The Rock was the biggest supporter and driving factor in the DC sphere for Henry Cavil to return as Superman and face off against his version of Black Adam, which is clearly not what James Gunn and the new heads of DC desired for the franchise.
As soon as the news came out that his decision to bring Cavil back as Superman was not only postponed, but actually ended up blowing up in The Rock’s face with Cavil’s firing would destroy the relationship between any A-list action star and the studio they were working with.
It all comes down to a matter of expectations, and Dwayne Johnson’s were obviously ruined with DC firing Cavil again.
Therefore, it was only a matter of time before Gunn and Johnson faced off head-to-head in a battle of wills over the fate of DC…which was clearly won by Gunn.
Now, I’m not saying that Johnson won’t return as Black Adam or that his sequel film is completely shelved, but it does seem likely that The Rock will have to go back playing in the Fast and Furious universe for a while before he can dawn the black cape again.
Prior to Gunn’s appointment, Johnson and Black Adam were the ‘next big thing’ in the DC universe as Warner Bros. and the comics/entertainment company were desperate for some success and star power pull after the disaster that was the DCEU.
Actually, to be honest, I’m not even sure Black Adam wasn’t a DCEU movie, though I would have to assume that it’s not as there was no mention of the Justice League or any other superheroes (ex: Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash) Superman. And that’s only because of Johnson’s desire to bring back Cavil.
Nevertheless, Johnson as Black Adam was always going to be a quick blimp of excitement for the studio before everyone realized that DC had nothing to offer other than The Rock as a superhero and cheesy CGI effects. Unlike the early phases of Marvel, DC and the DCEU has lacked any heart and soul in its “flagship” of superhero movies and universes.
(Warner Bros. Pictures-Black Adam-Official Trailer 1)
Sure, the studio has had hits in Joker and The Batman, but those two movies are their own entities and have no bearing on the ‘flagship’ films (ex: Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Shazam, Black Adam, Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice, Justice League, etc.).
And that’s probably why James Gunn is allowing Joker and The Batman to have sequel films and has completely shut down all other ideas and projects, such as Black Adam 2, Wonder Woman 3, The Flash’s movie, and Batwoman, Batgirl, The Man of Steel sequel, Cyborg’s movie, and the Jared Leto Joker movie.
DC and Warner Bros. desperately need James Gunn and his ideas for the DC Comics characters to succeeded to even have a shadow of a hope of catching Marvel, and that has come at the cost of Cavil’s Superman and now seemingly Johnson’s Black Adam.
We’ll have to wait and see if any other DCEU actor gets shelved by Gunn, which is almost a guarantee at this point. My bet is Ezra Miller as The Flash as I don’t know how that guy has outlasted Henry Cavil, Ben Affleck, and Dwayne Johnson as a superhero actor given the stuff he’s done.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Warner Bros. Pictures) (Black Adam – Official Trailer 1 – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Warner Bros. Pictures) (Black Adam – Official Trailer 1 – YouTube)
