Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s future in the DC Universe appears to be uncertain at the moment, as his DC Superhero film Black Adam continues to struggle at the box office.
According to reports, Johnson’s future in the DC franchise has become much more uncertain as the new DC Studios era begins under James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Now that word is spreading that Gunn and Safran are about to reveal their plans for the DCU, one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle is determining whether or not The Rock’s Black Adam will be a part of it.
Logistically, Black Adam not performing well enough to merit a sequel makes sense; nevertheless, from a commercial standpoint, since the first picture was not a major success, doubling-down on a more expensive sequel is clearly a risk.
Having said that, there was always more room for Dwayne Johnson to be a huge force in the DCU outside of a stand-alone Black Adam film series.
The film’s post-credits scene set up Adam for a Justice League connection via Henry Cavill’s Superman; Black Adam is also a Shazam! character. Fans hoped for a crossover between the two film franchises, which was never realized.
Prior to the release of Black Adam (and before the DC Studios announcement), talk was rife that Johnson and his production company Seven Bucks may become the new shepherds of the whole DC Movie Universe.
From hollywoodreporter.com:
Also unlikely is a sequel to Black Adam. Despite the hype surrounding the movie of launching a new corner of DC, a lot of it led by star Dwayne Johnson, the movie has only grossed $385 million worldwide and insiders at the studio say the movie, which cost more than $190 million to produce (two sources peg the actual cost at $230 million, not including marketing), will be lucky to break even, even considering ancillary revenue. Even if the movie does eke out a minimal profit, any follow-up’s inherent rising costs dim the prospect of a sequel.
