DC Not Happy With What The Rock Is Cookin’?
To say DC Films is shaking things up is a bit of an understatement. There have been a lot of changes happening over at the major comic book movie studio and The Hollywood Reporter recently released an extensive report on what might be going on. One of the surprising reveals in the article is that DC might not be too pleased with Dwayne Johnson’s recent efforts and he might not be a part of the plan going forward.
DC’s most recent blockbuster release was Dwayne Johnson’s long-gestating Black Adam film. While audiences have been relatively pleased with the movie, sources are saying the movie may not even break even financially. Although the movie has made $385 million worldwide, insiders indicate that the movie could have cost as much as $230 million to produce, not including marketing.
If these insider reports are accurate, DC will likely not be keen on bringing Dwayne Johnson back for a sequel. The Hollywood Reporter article goes on to say that Johnson’s involvement and insistence on playing up Henry Cavill’s return as Superman “may not be endearing him to the new management.” Perhaps Johnson could be in the cards to play Black Adam again, but it doesn’t seem like they’d be positioning him for another solo movie if this does happen.
It’s not too surprising that DC is looking to switch things up and leave some projects in the past, as James Gunn and Peter Safran are laying out a multi-year plan for the DCU. Whether or not Dwayne Johnson is a part of that plan is likely going to be their call. The new plan does seem like it will be resetting the Synderverse that the studio was creating, so that could mean leaving Black Adam behind too.
With that being said, Johnson is typically box-office gold so this movie does seem to be a little bit of an outlier in his filmography. James Gunn has been incredibly consistent with delivering top-notch comic book films for both DC and Marvel, so it’s always possible he could create a project for Dwayne Johnson that would get audiences more interested. Regardless, it seems like Gunn and Safran transitioning the current character lineup into their new universe is not going to be the easiest and cleanest obstacle to overcome.
If DC does indeed decide to leave Dwayne Johnson out of future plans, he likely won’t be the only one getting the axe. In the report, the most shocking revelation was that Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot might not even get to make another Wonder Woman film. Out of the pre-Gunn and Safran planned films, this one was still extremely early in the development stages so it makes sense that they would be able to cut it with minimal financial losses.
Before DC can leave its previous plans behind completely, there are several films coming out that likely won’t be drastically changed by the new regime. The next film Shazam! Fury of the Gods will hit theaters on March 17, 2023. In the meantime, you can still see Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam in theaters.
