The Rock Just Announced Black Adam’s Future, Official
After weeks of back and forth between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Warner Bros. Discovery, which included the sudden rise of James Gunn as Co-CEO of DCU studios, the fate of Black Adam has been decided, and while it is not good, it is what most fans were expecting to hear. The Rock shared on Twitter a letter to fans, explaining that Black Adam will not be part of the first wave of DCU movies under the new leadership. This follows with the massive purge of talent taking place, leaving only one actor, Margot Robbie, still standing at the moment.
While The Rock delivered bad news to his fans, he left the door open to working with James Gunn in the future, a sentiment shared by the head of the DCU. Black Adam might, someday, far in the future, make a return to the DCU, but for now the character is done. The disappointing box office and critical reception is a sad end to The Rock’s 15-year journey bringing the character to life, but at least he did succeed in making Black Adam.
When The Rock first said he wanted to make a superhero movie, and said he would be Black Adam, most comic fans were left scratching their heads. At the time, Black Adam was a third-tier villain on his way up thanks to DC’s 52, an unique series that published one new issue a week for one year, did a lot to recast the Shazam villain as an anti-hero. The film’s marketing and plot took a similar tact with the character, emphasizing that he wasn’t a regular superhero and instead a flawed man that never wanted to be a savior.
In a case of unfortunate timing, Black Adam’s post-credit scene included what was supposed to be the first of many stand-offs between The Rock and Henry Cavill as Superman. The short scene was a grand announcement to fans letting them know that Cavill was still on board as Superman after a series of faceless cameos in other DCU films. Just weeks after fans were excited over the future of the DCU, everything changed, and everyone was gone.
Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3 was tossed out, Jason Momoa is rumored to be recast as Lobo, Ben Affleck is out as Batman, Henry Cavill is gone as Superman (again), Ezra Miller’s Flash is likely also gone but news won’t break until after the movie is finally released next year. With only four films scheduled to be released, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, the DCU is going to look vastly different in the near future. If it is any consolation to The Rock, Black Adam failing to bring in modern Marvel money is, at least publicly, not the reason for the character being put back on the shelf.
Only James Gunn and Peter Safran know what is coming for the DCU. A tighter, closer connected movie universe matching the interconnectedness of the MCU would be a large step in the right direction, but it took Disney 11 years for their plans to pay off. The only thing we know for certain, is that Black Adam and Superman won’t payoff that post-credit scene, leaving fans to wonder what a movie starring The Rock and Henry Cavill would have looked like.
