Dwayne Johnson had very big plans for the future of Black Adam and the DCEU, but that all went down the drain shortly after the release of the film.
Last year, Black Adam was finally released in theaters after a lengthy and expensive production process. The film fell short of expectations at the box office, though it notably performed better than subsequent DC releases like The Flash. Very soon after the release of Black Adam, it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran were taking the reins at DC Studios, and one of their first decisions was to scrap all potential sequel and spinoff plans for Black Adam. During a new interview with Kevin Hart for the Peacock series Hart to Heart, Johnson reflected on the ordeal, still feeling mystified about the decision.
“Black Adam got caught in a vortex of new leadership,” as Johnson explained. “It was so many changes in leadership. Anytime you have a company, a publicly traded company, and you have all those changes in leadership, you have people coming in who, creatively and fiscally, are going to make decisions that you may not agree with.”
Dwayne Johnson Saw Great Potential in Black Adam’s Future
While Black Adam wasn’t a billion-dollar movie like Aquaman, it notably ended on a very high note with the shocking return of Henry Cavill as Superman. This teased a potential sequel where Black Adam would finally fight Superman on-screen, and Cavill had similarly expressed his excitement at the time about doing more movies in that role. Johnson pointed out how the absence of a release in China put a big dent in Black Adam‘s box office gains, but it was still the best opening of his career. The Rock also felt there was great potential for the other characters in the film to be explored.
“That will always be one of the biggest mysteries,” Johnson said, referring to Gunn and Safran nixing the franchise plans. “You have the biggest opening of your career. Sure, no China, which could’ve been maybe 100 or 200 million more dollars. You have a superhero and you want to grow out the franchise. You bring back Superman and Henry Cavill, which the world went crazy. And we created a diverse superhero portfolio, where we have just men and women of color in Black Adam.”
Black Adam can be found streaming on Max, where it pulled in high viewership after its theatrical run.
Source: Hart to Heart on Peacock