On the Oscars red carpet, Dwayne Johnson paused to consider the DC Universe revamp that derailed his plans for a Black Adam-Superman crossover film. Cavill’s Superman was dropped from the DC Universe despite his highly anticipated comeback in Johnson’s “Black Adam,” according to Variety’s senior culture and events editor Marc Malkin, who spoke with Johnson about the matter.
“All that I can do, and all that we could do when we were making ‘Black Adam,’ was to put our best foot forward and surround ourselves with the best people and deliver the best movie we could,” Johnson said. “Our audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple shots, but that’s just the business of it.”
“James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling,” Johnson told fans last December. “However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters.”
Johnson added, “After 15 years of relentless hard work to finally make ‘Black Adam,’ I’m very proud of the film we delivered for fans worldwide. I will always look back on the fan reaction to ‘Black Adam’ with tremendous gratitude, humility and love.”
After the opening weekend of “Black Adam,” Henry Cavill made a social media announcement about his return as Superman. Since he was working on a new Man of Steel film with a younger version of the superhero, Gunn revealed two months later that Cavill would not be Superman in the new DC Universe.
That film, “Superman: Legacy,” is scheduled for a 2025 release date. Gunn and Safran are also developing “Supergirl: World of Tomorrow” and a Batman and Robin movie, “The Brave and the Bold,” as part of the new DC Universe.
Johnson and his producing partner Hiram Garcia made numerous press interviews before to the release of “Black Adam,” promoting the on-screen confrontation between Johnson’s Black Adam and Cavill’s Superman.
“We really want to craft a long-form of storytelling and show that these two characters exist in the same universe and are going to have to deal with each other often, either on the same or opposite sides,” Garcia told CinemaBlend. “Hopefully they’re going to clash at some point, but it’s not just about a ‘one fight’ situation. That was never our dream. That does not reward the fans. Fans want to feel a journey between these guys knowing that these guys exist in the same universe.”