When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Black Adam hit theaters last year, DC movie fans suffered from a severe case of whiplash. Henry Cavill's Superman had returned to the DC Universe, which wasn't exactly a surprise when it was revealed at the end of Black Adam. However, in less than two months, Cavill announced he would not be continuing as the Man of Steel after James Gunn and Peter Safran fired him. The Rock revealed in the media that plans were also underway to have his Black Adam eventually square off against Cavill's Superman in addition to bringing back Cavill's Superman for more movies.
As Black Adam was still playing in theaters, only a week in fact, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a revival of the DC franchise under the new label of DC Studios, quickly destroying the future that Dwayne Johnson had envisioned. The studio also announced that Cavill would NOT be the Superman of the new franchise, which is set to launch with a Superman reboot movie, Superman: Legacy, written and most likely be directed by James Gunn, and which The Rock quickly clarified that his Black Adam was not in the immediate plans for DC Universe: Chapter One.
Dwayne Johnson has provided comments on his meeting with James Gunn and how much he appreciates Gunn's choice to put the Black Adam franchise on hold for the time being.
"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 told Variety. "Our audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple of shots, but that's just the business of it.”
Johnson has the following to say about the specific matter of DC Studios executives James Gunn and Peter Safran choosing to fire Henry Cavill as Superman:
"It's almost like when you have a pro football team and your quarterback wins championships and your head coach wins championships and then a new owner comes in and says, 'Not my coach, not my quarterback. I'm going to go with somebody new.”
Dwayne Johnson, the new co-owner of the XFL football league, makes a fitting comparison to Henry Cavill as the star quarterback and Zack Snyder as the coach. Although some fans are divided on the trio's previous DC films, there's no denying their immense popularity and the passion of their dedicated fanbase. Therefore, the idea of this talented team coming together for new projects is something that many fans were excited for and eager to see what they would had created next.
Additionally, the Black Adam movie featured the Justice Society of America. Fans were thrilled to see them in the film, as it not only provides an opportunity for lesser-known characters to shine but also expands the DCEU's mythology. The JSA has a rich history in the comics and has been adapted into various media before, but this marks their first live-action appearance in a major film. Fans hoped that this would just the beginning for the JSA in the DCEU and that they will continue to play a significant role in future projects. Critics and fans both praise the performances of Aldis Hodge as Hawkman and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate.
Although Black Adam, was only a decent action flick, there’s no doubt Johnson and his team were trying to expand the DCEU with many fans eager to see more.
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