Back before Dwayne Johnson cemeted his position in the DC Universe by taking a role as Black Adam in SHAZAM, the actor was linked to an adaptation of Lobo. The project was set to reteam Johnson and his SAN ANDREAS and JOURNEY 2 director Brad Peyton. But, with the launch of the DC Cinematic Universe, the project has disappeared. During press rounds for SAN ANDREAS, Peyton shed some light on the status of LOBO.
Speaking with Coming Soon, Peyton says that the DC Cinematic Universe was prioritized to setup the foundation with the major heroes that form the Justice League. Clearly, Lobo is not one of those pillars as he is unfamiliar to mainstream audiences.
“It’s a real uphill battle to talk people into spending a lot of money to do things correctly… I was really happy with the script, [though]. I talked with Dwayne about it. Joel Silver and I had a really amazing meeting about it. I did a rewrite of the script and was really, really excited for it. In their estimation, though, he wasn’t one of those main guys… That’s fair enough. I think that, to do any kind of comic book universe correctly, you do need to establish, ‘Here’s the tone. Here’s the main people.’ Then we can grow offshoots from there. With Marvel, they’re now doing smaller characters like ‘Ant-Man’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ They obviously had to start, though, with their big guns and set up ‘The Avengers.’ I kind of feel like that’s where DC is now. They’re setting that team up.”
Peyton goes on to say that he is confident that Warner Bros and DC will revisit the screenplay and realize just what a good script they have their hands on, but it seems unlikely he or Dwayne Johnson will be involved. Johnson's commitment to playing Black Adam takes him out of contention for pretty much any other DC role. Peyton could theoretically still helm LOBO, but that would likely hinge on who they could get for the title part.
For now, we can enjoy seeing Peyton and Johnson wreak devastation in SAN ANDREAS, opening May 29th.