It’s no secret that The Rock wasn’t happy about his Black Adam character getting nixed from James Gunn’s new DCU, and the actor recently spoke about his discontent on Kevin Hart’s Hart to Hart series on Peacock. Johnson felt like the new leadership didn’t take the audience’s reactions to Black Adam into account when considering a sequel, saying, “When that wasn’t looked at through that lens, it makes things a little bit more challenging (via Pink Villa).”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says DC Studios didn’t take audience reaction into consideration when the decision was made to boot him from the DCU.
The Rock isn’t wrong about audiences liking his Black Adam film and character, despite mixed reviews from critics. The problem, which James Gunn likely had to consider when making decisions, is that the film was a box office disappointment. While it did manage to gross $393 million worldwide, this reportedly wasn’t enough to break even, which made the film a box office bust.
The Rock also fought hard to get Henry Cavill’s Superman to appear in the post-credits sequence of Black Adam, which definitely got people hyped about Cavill returning to play the character.
Johnson has previously made a statement that he would continue working with Warner Bros. Discovery to see how they could utilize Black Adam in the future.
However, this also went against James Gunn’s new direction in the DCU, as he was planning on starting with a younger Superman and kicking off his new DCU with the film Superman: Legacy in 2025. Cavill was eventually let go from his DC role, and David Corenswet has since been cast as the Man of Steel.
However, fans of The Rock as Black Adam don’t have to completely despair, as there’s a chance that James Gunn might incorporate the character, or at least Dwayne Johnson himself, into the DCU sometime in the future. Johnson has previously made a statement that he would continue working with Warner Bros. Discovery to see how they could utilize Black Adam in the future.
There’s nothing to indicate that The Rock’s Black Adam will be showing up in any of the Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate of film and TV projects.
Separately, Gunn has said that he looks forward to potential future collaborations with Johnson and his Seven Bucks Production company. Gunn has laid out his immediate future DCU plans, which are collectively titled Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.
There’s nothing to indicate that The Rock’s Black Adam will be showing up in any of the Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate of film and TV projects, and it seems like James Gunn will be focusing more on re-introducing some core DC characters alongside some much lesser-known characters (as is characteristic of Gunn’s superhero works).
However, unlike the Henry Cavill situation, Black Adam is a character who Gunn didn’t seem to feel the need to replace immediately. This certainly leaves the door open for Johnson to the role sometime in the future.
Meanwhile, The Rock will likely be staying plenty busy with the numerous other projects he has on his plate. James Gunn, similarly, has a lot to juggle right now in the DCU. We’ll keep you updated on the future of Black Adam and the rest of the DCU either way.
