After Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson expressed his interest in having his Black Adam face-off against Superman, the cast of Red Notice have weighed in on a potential battle with Wonder Woman… and possibly Deadpool?
One of the DC FanDome 2021 highlights was Black Adam’s first teaser. The short look at the upcoming DC Extended Universe film did not reveal much, but it did provide a hint at the power level that the anti-hero would be wielding. If a battle with the Man of Steel isn’t on the horizon, could the Amazing Amazon be a potential contender? But could Marvel’s Deadpool win against either one? The stars of Netflix’s Red Notice share their thoughts about it.
Check out the details below for what could be the future clash of titans in the DCEU and MCU!
Comic book conflict
Teth-Adam, who would later be known as Black Adam, was granted power by the wizard Shazam to be his champion and protector of the Rock of Eternity. In terms of power class, Black Adam is certainly in the upper echelon of the DC Universe, with super-strength, speed, and near-invulnerability, as well as a connection to the magical energies that his patron deities represent, allowing him to throw lightning bolts and cast spells.
Wonder Woman has had a more varied origin over the years. Initially a being created from clay and given powers by the Greek goddesses, she has been revised to being one of the children of Zeus. Aside from that, Diana possesses the skills and experience honed for millennia among the Amazons. At various points, Diana has been portrayed as an immortal demigod to a full-blown Goddess of Truth. In fact, her most recent transformation elevated her to a multiversal being, thanks to the World Forge and Anti-Crisis Energy.
Finally, Deadpool is a mutated human, with a healing factor artificially mimicking the abilities of X-Men’s Wolverine. Although his body is ravaged by cancer, Wade Wilson’s regenerative abilities keep it at bay, while making him virtually unkillable. With his already impressive combat skills and experience as a soldier of fortune, Deadpool is certainly a fearsome combatant. However, he suffers from insanity due to the process of his artificial mutation, although it gives him unusual insight, being aware of his status as a fictional character and often breaking the proverbial Fourth Wall.
Although Black Adam and Wonder Woman have crossed paths and exchanged blows in the comics and other mediums, a live action battle between them has yet to be put on screen. Deadpool, on the other hand, has just recently been reacquired by the Walt Disney Company as part of the acquisition of 20th Century Fox. The next Deadpool sequel has been confirmed as going to be part of the Marvel Studios umbrella.
Black Adam and Red Notice producer thoughts
With the upcoming Black Adam film less than a year away, talks about sequels and spinoffs are already on the table. The Black Adam film already sets up the introduction of the Justice Society members Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone. Given the long-term plans for the DCEU multiverse (especially the soft reboot in The Flash film), a crossover involving Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is a definite possibility.
In an interview with Variety during the premiere of Netflix’s Red Notice, Black Adam and Red Notice producer Hiram Garcia shared his opinion about a possible Black Adam versus Wonder Woman film:
We gotta see them together somehow. Believe me, we’re working on it. To see Wonder Woman and Black Adam share the screen, it would be pretty awesome and I honestly feel like Wonder Woman is one of the few superheroes that can go toe-to-toe with Black Adam. We need to see them. We want to see them.
Will DC fans ever see Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot's #BlackAdam and #WonderWoman cross over?
"We gotta see them together somehow," says Hiram Garcia. "I honestly feel like Wonder Woman is one of the few superheroes that can go toe-to-toe with Black Adam." https://t.co/M232HP48fJ pic.twitter.com/BMJP74iRJd
— Variety (@Variety) November 4, 2021
The producer is certainly enthusiastic about the prospect and, based on his words, the wheels are already in motion to make this battle between two DCEU powerhouses happen. Whether or not it will be in a Black Adam sequel or in Wonder Woman’s own film franchise is anybody’s guess for now.
Deadpool weighs in
During the same Red Notice event, Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot’s co-star, Ryan Reynolds was also asked on who would win in a three-way fight between Black Adam, Wonder Woman, and his Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool:
Oh boy, I think the audience. And whatever lawyer managed to figure out how to bring all those three together.
Ryan Reynolds answers the question on everyone's mind: Who would win in a fight between Deadpool, Black Adam and Wonder Woman?
"Oh boy, I think the audience," he says. "And whatever lawyer managed to figure out how to bring all those three together." https://t.co/M232HP48fJ pic.twitter.com/FGDM75Cj0p
— Variety (@Variety) November 4, 2021
Reynolds continued after giving it more thought, and made a definitive choice among the three:
Black Adam, we don’t really know. We can’t rush to judgement before all the facts are in there. I guess that’s going to be a weird fight. I’m kind of unkillable. I don’t know what Wonder Woman’s status is there in the unkillable department — though she seems fairly unkillable. Dwayne’s gonna go just right away with Black Adam, I think. Gal’s gonna have a little humility about it and say Wonder Woman or probably Black Adam, and I’m just gonna go with Wonder Woman.
With the DCEU Wonder Woman being the demigod daughter of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta, Reynolds might be correct in that assessment. After all, Black Adam’s powers are formidable but borrowed. Meanwhile, Deadpool’s artificial regenerative abilities do not provide him an advantage to deal with invulnerable, god-like opponents.
DC vs. Marvel? Or Warner Bros. vs. Disney?
Although the Red Notice stars are obviously more than willing to explore the possibility of a crossover, it seems unlikely for all three to appear on the screen together as their superhero roles. A sequel to either the Black Adam or Wonder Woman movies that bring them in conflict against each other is a likely probability, but Deadpool is over at DC Films and Warner Bros. Pictures perennial rivals, Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.
But never say never, especially in the movie business. Dwayne Johnson is not the only celebrity and film industry mover who has expressed the possibility of a big-screen DC v. Marvel crossover. Director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) has thrown in ideas to the possibility of a DC and Marvel crossover film, and pointing out it is just a matter of how big the potential profits could be for the companies involved.
Catch Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds together in Red Notice, out now in theaters and hitting the Netflix streaming service November 12, 2021.
Meanwhile, the Warner Bros. Pictures superhero film Black Adam lightning strikes to theaters on July 29, 2022.
