The arrival of Black Adam in movie theaters last year was a very long time coming, but even though the Dwayne Johnson-played antihero arrived alongside a returning Henry Cavill's Superman, there's not going to be a future for these characters moving forward. While Black Adam had a respectable showing at the box office with nearly $400 million in worldwide ticket sales earned, the film fell far short of studio expectations, given the sky-high budget and long development period. Leading up to the release, The Rock had hoped to keep the story going afterward with sequels and spinoffs, culminating in the ultimate battle between Black Adam and Superman.
We now know that this wasn't meant to be. It wasn't weeks after Black Adam was released when James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired to overhaul the slate of superhero content moving forward at DC Studios. One of the very first decisions made was to scrap all plans to make a follow-up film to Black Adam, though The Rock teased at the time that a multiverse appearance in the future was possible. Gunn and Safran would also show Cavill the door, as they had other plans for their DCU's Superman that did not involve the Man of Steel star.
While at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, The Rock was speaking with Variety when the subject of Black Adam came up. He first reflected on the development of the movie itself, and how everyone involved had done their best to make it as good as could possibly be. The movie would ultimately be met with a mixed response from critics upon its release, though The Rock is happy that the film was a hit with filmgoers, who conversely gave the movie much higher audience scores in comparison. As he tells Variety:
"You know, all that I could do, and that we could do, when we were making Black Adam was to put our best foot forward, surround ourselvse with the best people, and also, to deliver the best movie we could. The audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple of shots. That's just the business of it, though."
The Rock Says There's a New "Coach" at DC Studios
As far as Cavill's Superman exit, The Rock compares it to a new coach stepping in to take control of a football team and going with a different quarterback. That suggests that this is nothing more than a change in strategy and that it's not exactly personal, even if there must be some disappointment there. As Dwayne Johnson puts it:
"I think it's almost like when you have a pro football team, and your quarterback wins championships, the head coach wins championships, and you have a new owner. And the new owner comes in, and says, 'Not my coach, not my quarterback, I'm gonna go with someone new.'"
While Black Adam could have done better in theaters, it did very well on streaming by pulling in high viewership on HBO Max. If you want to watch the film, you can find it now on the streaming platform.