Dwayne Johnson Is The New Leader Of The DC Universe?
Does the DC Cinematic Universe need a leader? A new rumor says Dwayne Johnson would like to step up to the plate.
This article is more than 2 years old
Dwayne Johnson is finally filming Black Adam for the DC Extended Universe. This movie has been in the making for a very long time. When he got started talking to DC about working together, movies for DC were in a very different place. So was his career. Today, The Rock is a major force behind many franchises. He has star power, he’s a producer, and he has a lot of projects on his plate. When Black Adam releases in July 2022, the movie will be entering the DC Extended Universe at a strange time. Filmmaker Zack Snyder has cut ties with the studio. The Batman is releasing and takes place on Earth-Two. The future of DC is up in the air, and it’s anyone’s guess who has the ball.
According to what Hollywood insider Daniel Richtman has shared with his Patreon page, Dwayne Johnson sees himself as the right person to lead the DC Extended Universe going forward. It’s unclear what that means, exactly. Does Dwayne Johnson want his character to appear in several DC films and be the face of the DC Extended Universe? Does he want his character to unite the films and create a cohesive cinematic universe? It’s been rumored that he may be appearing in several projects for DC.
Or by “lead”, does Daniel Richtman mean that Dwayne Johnson wants to work as a producer on more DC films and have a larger say on what is happening with the DCEU moving forward? Currently, he is an executive producer on Black Adam. Also at DC, he’s a producer on DC League of Super-Pets. Does he want to work behind the scenes to create a more cohesive franchise? Is his future more as a leader behind the scenes? Does The Rock have time to lead the DCEU and handle all of his other businesses and film projects? While Dwayne Johnson is currently building his relationship with DC, he is also building up projects at Netflix and running a tequila business.
Could Dwayne Johnson lead the DC Extended Universe? Would he want to? And if he doesn’t do it, who is, exactly? If you asked a fan of the superhero genre who is leading the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they could probably tell you Kevin Feige is leading the studio and pulling the stories together. As for a Marvel character, it used to be Tony Stark, and these days, that’s shifting, but the storytelling universe still feels cohesive.
Meanwhile, if you ask that same fan who is leading DC, you may get an earful. What is happening at DC? What’s the future of the DC Extended Universe? It got started with Man of Steel, where Henry Cavill played Superman and Zack Snyder was a filmmaker with a vision. For a while, fans could say that the Snyderverse was the core of the DC Extended Universe and Zack Snyder was the leader, but with Snyder out, it’s more clear than ever that DC is not Marvel.
But does it need to be? Does it need a leader? That may be easier to answer if it was clearer what their goals were. If there’s someone around at DC with a goal-oriented mindset though, it’s likely Dwayne Johnson. His brand has been built around being the hardest working person in the room. He likes to get things done. Saying that he wants to lead the DC Extended Universe sounds fairly in line with the way he thinks. We’ll have to see how his relationship with DC develops as Black Adam becomes an onscreen reality.
