credit: Black Adam
DC fans keeping up with the movies know by now that Dwayne Johnson‘s Black Adam will not be getting a sequel. It’s a bit unfortunate, but the reality is the movie did not live up to financial and audience expectations. When you put out a movie starring one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and it fails to meet box office expectations, then you have to put on the brakes. Despite the movie being a fun ride with many fun elements to it, it seems most fans were more curious about the post-credits scene. Oh yes, who didn’t get excited when they saw Henry Cavill‘s Superman confront Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam? That was only a small taste of what was to come. However, after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios, those plans were subsequently axed.
For those who were big fans of Henry Cavill’s Superman, the fact that he was brought back just for that one scene in Black Adam makes his exit even sadder. And if the Black Adam sequel did happen, then the whole focus of the movie probably would’ve been an epic fight between the two DC powerhouses. Boy, what a fight that would have been. But, numbers are numbers and the movie just didn’t live up to expectations, simple as that. So what does that mean for the future of Black Adam and Dwayne Johnson?
Well, the man behind the dark anti-hero made it clear in his social media post that James Gunn and Peter Safran still plan on collaborating with Johnson and Seven Bucks Productions (his production company) on potential ways Black Adam can still be a part of their new DC reboot. That may or may not include Dwayne Johnson himself continuing to play the character. If it does, then it will surely never be in a movie where Black Adam is the main character.
credit: Black Adam
Will that work with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? Again, this is arguably the biggest movie star in the world. Just look at the Fast and Furious franchise before and after he came aboard. Credit where it’s due, he helped catapult it into the billion-dollar box office club, but he’s a big enough star to make his own demands. Remember how big his feud was with Vin Diesel? That whole franchise changed when The Rock joined and that feud was just the beginning.
As far as Black Adam goes, it’s clear by now that film was made because of Dwayne Johnson’s commitment to getting it made. All credit to him. He’s been attached to the project for about fifteen years. He stuck to his guns, managed to get the movie out, and gave us that quick Superman cameo that fans really liked. And the best parts of Black Adam were the scenes with the Justice Society members. There were a lot of things to work with if a sequel got made, but what it really boils down to is Black Adam being able to carry a movie when he’s the main character.
Why didn’t Black Adam make the money it needed to? Part of the reason is that fans weren’t fully invested in the story behind it. That’s because Black Adam works best when he’s a villain fighting his archenemy Shazam or even Superman. He has worked well as an anti-hero in the past, but he’s always more interesting when he’s fighting the heroes. Don’t forget. This is a villain that slaughtered an entire nation. It’s pretty hard to not view him as a villain knowing that.
Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam was at his best when he was fighting the Justice Society. And since he was the main protagonist of his own movie, the actual villain of the movie was the CGI character Sabbac. How many people actually thought he was a strong villain? Probably not very many. Black Adam works best when he’s the villain because he believes he’s the hero of his own story. The movie did a fine job at developing him as a brutal anti-hero, but his best scenes were fighting the heroic Justice Society. And now that Sabbac is defeated, who would he possibly fight in a sequel that is more villainous than him?
credit: Black Adam
If Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam was a villain in another DC movie, it would be in a Shazam sequel. How cool would it have been if Zachary Levi’s Shazam teamed up with Henry Cavill’s Superman to fight Black Adam? That would’ve been awesome. However, Dwayne Johnson really has a tendency to assert his control over the projects he works on. Would he be content with being a side character, even if he’s the main antagonist? He already went through that with the Fast and Furious franchise, and he managed to get his own spin-off. And if the reports claiming that he turned down a cameo in Shazam 2 are correct, then it sounds like he wanted Black Adam to be a main character as much as possible.
If we do see Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam again, he’ll likely be an antagonist, or he could possibly be a reluctant ally of the Justice League. We’ve seen that happen in the Injustice games and he worked well as an enemy to the bigger enemy and had to ally himself with the heroes. The only question is can Dwayne Johnson be convinced to play the character in that way? He very well might, but he’ll have to accept that he won’t be the main character. Only time will tell if the man will suit up as the character again, but no matter what role he takes, I believe fans will love seeing him as Black Adam again.
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