Prior to recent events, Black Adam was set to be a big player in the DCU. According to one new report, however, the possibility of a cameo appearance in The Flash was one of Dwayne Johnson’s possible future appearances, but Seven Bucks president Hiram Garcia apparently declined the offer.As reported by The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez, during the original production of The Flash, plans were already considering where Black Adam could feature next in the franchise. This led to contact with Johnson’s Seven Bucks Production to see if a Black Adam link could be made with the Ezra Miller multiverse movie. While it is unclear what exactly Johnson himself thought of the idea, it seems that Garcia wasn’t interested in Johnson having bit-part cameo appearances, which is slightly ironic considering how Henry Cavill’s Superman made what is now set to be his last appearance in the DCU.
Fans have many theories about what the latest developments in the Black Adam saga mean for Johnson’s anti-hero. While it seems on the surface that Black Adam is done as far as appearances in the main DCU are concerned, there is certainly a door open for Johnson to appear in some parallel franchise if he wants to go down that route. Warner Bros. already has franchises like The Batman, which will continue world-building outside the DCU, and this could be where Black Adam is found in the future.
Was Black Adam a Success?
There are still plenty of conflicting reports on how well Black Adam performed compared to its hefty budget. Earlier in the month, it was suggested that the movie could end up losing up to $100 million for Warner Bros. Discovery, but this is something that Johnson has refuted.
There is no way to deny that Black Adam did not perform at the box office as many had hoped. The movie only made $168 million domestically and ended its theatrical run with a worldwide gross of $391 million. In context, Black Adam’s worldwide gross was only $30 million higher than the domestic total of The Batman. Whether the movie made a small profit or not is irrelevant when it comes to the numbers; as for a potentially universe-starter, it was more of a non-starter.
In the end, it seems that a combination of timing, box office results, and an ever-changing DC Studios plan is what ended Dwayne Johnson’s big DC dream of being the central thread of the new DCU. While many fans have been upset at the teasing promise of Henry Cavill’s Superman being brought back for an epic, multi-movie showdown with Black Adam having now been pulled out from under them, it is perhaps all for the best in the grander scheme of things.
For those who have yet to see Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam performance, the movie is now streaming on HBO Max.