DC Studios has entered into the early stages of setting up its cinematic universe for Warner Bros Discovery. This comes after the struggles the film studio has had in the world of superheroes, with Dwyane Johnson’s Black Adam being one of the last films from the old guard. Although the star actor was ambitious in his attempts to create a new hierarchy of the DC Universe for himself, it doesn’t seem everyone was on board. In a new report from Variety, studio insiders discussed the tumultuous making of Black Adam and the character’s corner of the cinematic universe.
Following the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, it has been reported from inside sources that Johnson met directly with new CEO David Zaslav to pitch a multi-year expansion for his character of Black Adam to be a cornerstone of DC films. This pitch has been said to have not been met well by others within Warner Bros. Discovery, and was instead viewed as a move to go around a number of other executives at the studio. In his plan, Johnson apparently laid out a plan of films involving Black Adam and Henry Cavill’s Superman interweaving before culminating in a film where the two heavyweights face-off against each other.
As seen with Black Adam, Johnson was able to secure a return for Henry Cavill as Superman for the post-credit scene. However, this return for Cavill was short-lived with James Gunn and Peter Safran seeking a new direction for the Man of Steel at DC Studios. And Dwayne Johnson has officially met the same fate with his time with DC following the box office flop of Black Adam and the high budgets Johnson generally demands.
In terms of the potential of a hypothetical Black Adam vs. Superman film or saga, the odds were not positive of it being a successful business plan. The concept of pitting two heroes against each other as the crux of a cinematic universe feels antiquated in today’s blockbuster landscape. Some could also make the viable argument that it’d be too close to Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
It remains to be seen if the newly founded DC Studios will be able to overcome the challenges that have plagued Warner Bros. Discovery for years at this point. However, the odds are in the favor of James Gunn and Peter Safran to outperform the tumultuous foundation pitched by Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam.
Source: Variety
