Since DC FanDome in 2020 when Dwayne Johnson started promoting Black Adam, one expression has become the movie's unofficial tagline — "The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe will change forever." Over the course of two years, Black Adam shifted from a simple Dwayne Johnson-led superhero movie to a major aspect of the DCEU that would kick off a new era of stories for the franchise.
Black Adam's status as a game changer became all the more important in 2022 after delays moved Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, The Flash, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods back to 2023. This left Black Adam as the only DCEU movie set to be released in 2022. Then it became the last major release Warner Bros. Discovery would have for the year following major shakeups at the company.
With the cancelation of Batgirl and various behind-the-scenes shifts regarding the future of the DCEU with DC Films President Walter Hamada resigning and no clear leadership in place, all eyes were on Black Adam. Would this be the film that charted a new course for the franchise, or would it be the remnants of an old regime at Warner Bros. that is no longer there that will shift following more announcements? This is a look at what Black Adam actually means for the DCEU future.
Black Adam Unites the Various DCEU Corners
The Black Adam movie has become the unofficial lynchpin of the DCEU, as the events of the film feature four major cameos that connect the film to the various corners of the franchise. The first is the appearance of the Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) who reprises his role from 2019's Shazam! and will next appear in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. As Black Adam was originally introduced as a Shazam villain and his powers are connected to the Wizard, this made sense.
Black Adam also features Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who has been seen in Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker. Black Adam is even stored in a Task Force X prison, connecting him further to the Suicide Squad and by extension, the Birds of Prey franchise, given Harley Quinn is in both. The other surprise cameo is agent Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) who appeared in both The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.
The biggest connection comes at the end, as Superman (Henry Cavill) meets with Black Adam face to face. Superman's presence now connects not only his franchise but also those of his Justice League members like Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg to Black Adam. This means Black Adam connects to all the corners of the DCEU, uniting the various franchises in a more interconnected way than any previous project had attempted.
Superman Returns in Black Adam
The arrival of Henry Cavill's Superman was arguably one of the worst-kept secrets in Hollywood next to the inclusion of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Dwayne Johnson has been teasing he wanted Black Adam to fight Superman for years, and the week of the film's release all but confirmed it to the press.
Cavill's appearance in Black Adam was a big deal. The actor has not reprised his role as Superman since 2017's Justice League (the actor did not partake in any reshoots for 2021's Zack Snyder's Justice League). Superman appeared in 2019's Shazam! and recently in the season finale of Peacemaker but his face was never shown. The original plan for Black Adam was to repeat this trend, with the cameo not showing Cavill's face but only the Superman logo.
This was reportedly due to a dispute between Cavill and Warner Bros. regarding his contract playing Superman, as the studio did not want to pay him his full price for small cameos. Dwayne Johnson went around DC President Walter Hamada to get a Henry Cavill Superman cameo and went to Warner Bros. executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy (De Luca and Abdy are currently in charge of DC Films following Hamada's exit and no new head in place as of this writing). Cavill's manager is Dany Garcia, who also happens to be Dwayne Johnson's producing partner for Seven Bucks Productions, helping make his Superman return a reality. The cameo was filmed in September 2022, meaning had the film not been delayed from its original July 29, 2022 release date it would not have happened.
Black Adam Shifted Away From Shazam!
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
When Dwayne Johnson signed on to play Black Adam back in 2007, the original plan was for him to be the primary villain in a Shazam! movie. This was the plan for quite a bit of time until Dwayne Johnson's star power grew, and the actor reportedly requested a spin-off film to introduce Black Adam as he thought the character deserved to have his story told in his own movie. Many assumed with Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Black Adam so close to each other on the release schedule, and Black Adam's connection to Shazam already teased in the 2019 film, that the two would cross over in a showdown event film, either Shazam 3 or Black Adam 2.
However, despite the presence of the Wizard Shazam, no mention is made of the Billy Batson superhero in Black Adam. Nobody makes a comment about how Black Adam has a similar look and power set to the hero in Philadelphia, including the kid obsessed with superheroes. Instead, Dwayne Johnson and Warner Bros. have now pivoted Black Adam away from being a Shazam villain and instead a foe for Superman. This is similar to how back in 2016 Ben Affleck's Batman movie was set to feature Deathstroke as the main villain, even though Deathstroke in the comics is primarily a villain of the Teen Titans and Green Arrow. This is possibly a setup for Superman to appear in Black Adam 2 as a major character, or for Black Adam to be the primary threat in an upcoming Man of Steel sequel.
Black Adam Retcons DCEU History
Black Adam introduces the Justice Society to the DCEU, and with it come some major implications for the franchise. The movie implies that the Justice Society has been operating for quite some time and members like Hawkman and Doctor Fate have a long history together. Noah Centieno's character Al Rothstein is the second Atom Smasher and is the nephew of Al Pratt (Henry Winkler) who originally wore the suit and worked alongside the Justice Society.
Al Rothstein says he used to want to be a superhero as a kid and looked up to his uncle, implying the Justice Society and its members were active members in the world which would contradict Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice which implied that the arrival of Superman was a universe-altering event that exposed the world to super-powered individuals.
This is not the first time the DCEU has made major changes to itself. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice said that Wonder Woman walked away from mankind following the events of her movie, but both Justice League and Wonder Woman 1984 retconned that. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice also introduced a Batman that had been operating for over 20 years before Superman showed up. 2016's Suicide Squad showed that the government was aware of superpowered individuals like El Diablo, who was in prison likely before Superman showed up. The Justice Society's introduction may change the entire course of how the DCEU functions moving forward.
Black Adam Teases a Lot, But is it Running in Place
Black Adam teases a lot of major changes to the DCEU. The introduction of Black Adam, a whole new superhero team in the Justice Society, and various factions coming into play would be the sign of building to some grand overarching storyline and that might be the case. Yet behind-the-scenes issues suggest Black Adam's status quo changes might not last long.
The current state of the DCEU is a tricky one. It appears the studio had big plans for how the franchise would move forward that were thrown into disarray because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Films were delayed, and then the studio was merged with Discovery to become Warner Bros. Discovery. Since then more release date changes have occurred, finished films like Batgirl were canceled, and films have had to undergo major changes in reshoots.
Much of DC's plans were set on The Flash, which is a multiversal adventure that would see the return of Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman as well as the introduction of Supergirl. The supposed plan was The Flash would rewrite the DCEU and give it a soft reboot, likely bringing in Michael Keaton to replace Ben Affleck as the DCEU Batman and put Supergirl front and center, with Keaton reprising his role in Batgirl, but that was canceled.
However, the release date shifts then meant Ben Affleck was brought in to reprise his role for a cameo in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom before that film was delayed again after The Flash, leaving his cameo up in the air. With the troubling headlines surrounding star Ezra Miller, the future of The Flash remains uncertain. This means that many of the major developments in Black Adam might actually be retconned in just a few months, leaving it as a film that implies big changes but might merely be forgotten about. Only time will tell in this ever-shifting universe.