By .
When “Black Adam” was conceived, the plan was to hopefully spark a DC film franchise that would see Dwayne Johnson’s antihero superhero return in sequels and appear in other movies within the DC universe, with a post-credits sequence featuring the return of Henry Cavill as Superman setting up an epic battle between the two characters.
However, when James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co-heads of Warner Bros.’ DC Studios in October 2022, plans for a “Black Adam” sequel were scuttled and the character ditched altogether, dashing Johnson’s hopes of a franchise.
During a recent appearance on Kevin Hart’s talk show “Hart to Heart”, Johnson explained how “Black Adam” came to be a casualty of DC Studios’ regime change.
READ MORE:
Dwayne Johnson Confirms ‘Black Adam’ Sequel Off The Table As DC Universe Shifts Directions
“I think that ‘Black Adam’ got caught in a vortex of new leadership,” he said.
“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, fiscally, are going to make decisions that you may not agree with, philosophically,” Johnson continued.
However, Johnson also admitted that he doesn’t understand the decision to scrap the sequel, given the film’s worldwide gross of nearly $400 million, despite being banned in China.
READ MORE:
Zachary Levi Doesn’t Blame Dwayne Johnson For Axed ‘Black Adam’ Cameo That Could Have Bolstered ‘Shazam 2’ Box Office
“I think ‘Black Adam’ is one of those movies that got caught in that web of new leadership. And that will always be one of the, one of the biggest mysteries I think, not only for me and us on our end, but also throughout our business,” he said.
“That was a question out of Wall Street, that was a question out of Hollywood: ‘Wait a minute. You had the biggest opening of your career. Sure, no China. That could have been maybe $100 million, maybe $200 million more dollars. You’re establishing a new superhero. You want to grow out the franchise. You bring back Superman and Henry Cavill. The world went crazy.’ And also, too, we created a diverse superhero portfolio…” he said.
READ MORE:
Dwayne Johnson On Henry Cavill Leaving DC After ‘Black Adam’ Brought Back Superman
“As business-minded people, you and I, who are always thinking ‘audience first,’ yes we look at and respect the bottom line economically, but also when you think about opportunity and creating opportunity and creating things that are fresh for our audience — which is our No. 1 boss — when that wasn’t looked at through that lens, it makes things a little more challenging for guys like you and I.”
Johnson compared DC Studios’ decision to the decisions made by a sports team after a change in ownership.
“You know what it is? It’s like new ownership coming in and buying an NFL team going, ‘Alright. Not my head coach. Not my quarterback. Doesn’t matter how many times we won the Super Bowl. Doesn’t matter how many rings we got. I’m going with somebody else,’” he explained.