Spoiler Warning: Black Adam (2022)
Black Adam has a post-credits scene that stunned audiences everywhere. We had hints it might be coming. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had been dropping names for a while leading up to the movie’s premiere. Black Adam had an incredible opening weekend at the box office, the best one a DC movie has had in a while. But after the show, Black Adam surprised us all in its post-credits scene. Johnson had hoped to set up an epic superhero showdown, and now audiences are behind it 100%. Finally, Superman is back. And Henry Cavill is wearing the red cape.
Black Adam’s post-credits scene didn’t just surprise audiences; it surprised a few executives too. The final shot with Henry Cavill as Superman wasn’t added in until long after the movie finished filming. The president of DC even shot down Cavill’s return, that is, until Johnson went over his head and did it anyway. The post-credits scene was one of the biggest highlights of the movie, and it almost didn’t happen.
Now we have hints at a Man of Steel 2 and more significant implications of a fight between Black Adam and Superman. The DC universe seems ready to explode in this single scene that sets up so much between Superman and Black Adam.
Superman Is Back
Henry Cavill is returning as Superman in the future of the DCEU. In Black Adam’s post-credits scene, Black Adam is confronted by Amanda Waller. Her image is projected via a hologram by a floating drone. In her continued attempt to control all metahumans for the safety of planet Earth – and to fulfill her own personal version of megalomania – she threatens Black Adam. Waller is angry that he managed to escape from her underwater superhuman prison. Now she tells Black Adam that if he does not agree to operate under her control, she’ll have to call in a favor. Black Adam, of course, scoffs at such a demand and destroys the drone with his lightning.
That’s when something lands in the shadows off-camera. We wait for a moment. Then, in a bright blue suit and flowing red cape, Superman steps out from the darkness saying, “It’s been a long time since anything’s made the world this nervous.” Simple, yes, but a truly powerful being doesn’t need to overstate himself. This comes after Black Adam reinforced his point to Amanda Waller that no one from this planet could stop him. But Superman isn’t from this planet.
It’s a wonderful scene and something fans have gotten really excited about. There were cheers and gasps of excitement in the theater. And it was definitely icing on the cake that Henry Cavill was back in the suit. It seemed different from the one we saw him wearing in the original Man of Steel. It was a brighter blue and deeper red, more of a classic Superman vibe. His appearance was also backed by a John Williams Superman theme the crew found on the internet just before they put the scene together. The whole thing brought back memories of the original comic book Superman, with his kind yet stern attitude and heroically coiffed hair.
If Henry Cavill really returns to the DCEU, perhaps, we’ll see more of a classic Superman and less of a new-age dark Superman that seems forced. We’ll take our darkness from Black Adam, thank you very much.
How the Post-Credits Scene Almost Didn’t Happen
This is Henry Cavill’s first appearance in the DCEU since Justice League in 2017, and it almost didn’t happen. Johnson had been talking about his role in Black Adam for a long time and was very excited to be a superhero with a more aggressive, violent streak. He seemed so high on his power that he took a few digs at Superman while we were all getting stoked for the movie. But it wasn’t always the plan.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson’s half of the post-credits was the last shot on the last day of filming. They had hopes for putting Cavill in the scene, but they just kind of set up a shot using the scenery they had. After that, the team put together Superman using a body double and John Williams’ 1978 Superman theme.
The crew showed this unfinished but still usable scene with Black Adam and Superman to test audiences when they began trying out the film. People loved it. Johnson and the director rushed to get Cavill for the role with renewed energy. The president of DC (now ex-president), Walter Hamada, completely rejected having a Superman scene in the movie since he had his own plans for a Superman revival. But Johnson bypassed DC and talked to the heads of Warner Bros. Films, who OK-ed the idea.
Henry Cavill only stood in to film the scene last month while he was in London. Most of the movie crew worked remotely, and Cavill just barely made it back into the DCEU. Now there’s talk of Man of Steel 2 and all sorts of possibilities this brings to DC films.