The hierarchy of power in the DC movie universe wasn’t meant to change like this, and Dwayne Johnson’s dream appears to be falling apart around him. The action movie star finally brought Black Adam to the big screen after years of development hell, but it sounds like he’s now turning down appearances in the superhero movie world.
Just a couple of months ago, Black Adam was the king of the DCEU and the plan was to get to work on Black Adam 2 as soon as possible. The Dwayne Johnson movie even managed to find room for Henry Cavill’s Superman in Black Adam, promising an epic fight between the two characters in the future.
Now though, there’s a wave of uncertainty running through the DCEU after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over. Henry Cavill is out again, and it sounds like Johnson is feeling a little put out, too.
A tweet from The Wrap reporter and industry insider Umberto Gonzalez revealed Johnson was asked to make a cameo appearance in the upcoming Shazam sequel, but refused. Gonzalez said: “Rock passed on doing a cameo in Shazam 2 when he was asked.”
With Man of Steel 2 dead in the water, Wonder Woman 3 on ice, and Gunn announcing he has a whole slate of new films ready to go, it’s unclear where Johnson’s anti-hero actually fits into all this.
With the change in leadership at DC Films, twinned with Black Adam’s underperformance at the box-office, we have to assume Johnson’s position is in jeopardy now. The same goes for most, if not all, of the DCEU’s current cast members, but we will have to wait and see if Gunn and Safran wipe the slate entirely clean.
In the meantime, why not check out our guides to two DC projects that are still happening (for now), with everything we know about the Aquaman 2 release date and The Flash release date.