Black Adam was supposed to change the hierarchy of the DC Universe… and… I suppose it did. After so many years of development and hype, Dwayne Johnson’s long-awaited superhero movie underperformed at the box office and was met with lackluster reviews. Despite promising the return of Henry Cavill as Superman, Black Adam won’t be leading the future of the DC Universe, and Dwayne Johnson took to social media to share an update on his place in the franchise.
“My passionate friends, I wanted to give you a long-awaited Black Adam update regarding the character’s future in the new DC Universe,” Dwayne Johnson wrote in the statement. “James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling. 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 continued:
James and I have known each other for years and have always rooted for each other to succeed. It’s no different now, and I will always root for DC (and Marvel) to win and WIN BIG.
You guys know me, and I have very thick skin – and you can always count on me to be direct with my words.
These decisions made by James and DC leadership represent their vision of DCU through their creative lens.
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.
We did great.
To my very passionate and vocal Black Adam/Super Hero genre fans – I love you, THANK YOU, and I will ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOU and do my best to deliver and entertain you.
When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over control of the DC Universe, it quickly became clear that they would be charting a new course for the franchise. Previously announced projects like Wonder Woman 3 were taken off the table, and others such as Man of Steel 2 were confirmed not to be in development. While Johnson’s statement indicates that we likely won’t be seeing Black Adam 2 anytime soon, it does tease that he may still have a role to play in the future of the DC Universe. In response to Dwayne Johnson’s statement, James Gunn tweeted, “Love [Dwayne Johnson] & I’m always excited to see what he & Seven Bucks do next. Can’t wait to collaborate soon.“
“In ancient Kahndaq, the slave Teth Adam was gifted the almighty powers of the gods,” reads the official Black Adam synopsis. “But he used those powers for vengeance and was imprisoned. Now, 5,000 years later, he is freed and once again wields his dark sense of justice onto the world. Refusing to surrender, Teth Adam is challenged by a team of modern-day heroes known as the Justice Society—Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone—who seek to return him to eternal captivity.” Black Adam is now streaming on HBO Max, so be sure to check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray, and let us know what you thought of the film as well!
Should Black Adam still have a part to play in the future of the DC Universe?