Now that Henry Cavill is confirmed to return as Superman, Black Adam star and producer Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson recalls how it took six years of negotiating with Warner Bros. leadership.
The cat is certainly out of the bag that Henry Cavill’s Superman will be in an end credits scene in the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam. Fans of both the actor and the DCEU have long been clamoring for him to return to the role. And this wish has finally paid off.
But it appears it was not easy to make it happen. What did Dwayne Johnson have to say? Check out the details below.
On Twitter, user @AjepArts shared a clip of an interview with Dwayne Johnson during the Black Adam promotional tour.
For those who doubt Rocks influence in getting Superman back, he explains he started working on this 6 years ago, for 6 years the old leadership at WB kept saying no to it. Shazam was always guaranteed let’s be real. But Superman? Old regime had no care for him. pic.twitter.com/GTvxW8MtCN
— AJ 🏳️🌈 | #FlashPack (@AjepArts) October 14, 2022
In the interview, Johnson spoke about the previous leadership at Warner Bros. and how long it took for Henry Cavill to get to wear the Kryptonian cape once more:
I feel that this serves not only Black Adam but the entire DC Universe. More importantly than that, it takes care of the fans. And that's what you want your lead foot to be. So, yes, phone calls, meetings…But, man this was years man. Six years to get that done. I'm going to say that again, six years we kept talking about this and they kept saying no. Now, that leadership isn't there anymore and we usher in a new era of the DC Universe.
Given the time frame, this would mean Johnson had begun negotiating for Henry Cavill to return between 2016-2017. During this period, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad had been released and production for Justice League was underway for its 2017 theatrical debut.
But with the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger, the leadership has had major changes. Moreover, CEO David Zaslav has openly declared that the DC properties are top priority, with a 10-year plan being hashed to overhaul their cinematic universe. Zaslav had specifically mentioned Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Batman as key characters in their strategy, given their global popularity.
During a guest appearance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Dwayne Johnson spoke at length of how they wanted the most powerful and unstoppable force in the universe back:
For years, you guys know, fans have been screaming, they’ve been upset, like hey, we established Black Adam as the most powerful and unstoppable force on this planet. The most powerful and unstoppable force in the entire universe has been on the sidelines for too long. So myself, 7 Bucks, Danny Garcia, Hiram Garcia, we fought, and we weren’t going to take no for an answer, we were gonna deliver it to the fans. And then at the end… welcome home.
Johnson is not kidding about how upset fans were. Earlier this year at the San Diego Comic Con, The Rock had received boos from fans. This was in response to his uncertainty of who might be playing Superman in the DCEU.
But now that Henry Cavill is virtually confirmed to be appearing in Black Adam, where does it go from there? Rumors and speculation have arisen that a new contract with Warner Bros. Pictures has been negotiated for Cavill to appear in more DCEU projects, including a full-length sequel to Man of Steel (2013).
Moreover, Dwayne Johnson has mentioned his vision of having a Black Adam vs. Superman film, as well as finally crossing over with the Shazam! films. Plus, Black Adam co-producer Hiram Garcia mentioned that it is their dream to bring to life the DC Comics epic Kingdom Come storyline.
Produced by Seven Bucks Productions and New Line Cinema, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Black Adam unleashes to theaters this week on October 21, 2022.
