The following will contain some DC spoilers while we dig into the future of the DC Universe, thanks to all of the news that recently broke regarding Man of Steel 2, a potential sequel to The Flash, James Gunn working on a mystery DC movie, and more. We are trying to get to the bottom of all of this, and it requires some of this stuff to come out. We will put the biggest spoilers later in the article, and will include another warning before you get anywhere close to them.
So, what the hell is going on over at DC? For years, the comic-book label seemed to suffer from an uncertainty that many fans (and most in the industry) chalked up to a lack of leadership. Projects like Batgirl were getting axed during post-production. Word about Ben Affleck returning to Batman’s cape and cowl for either The Flash or Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (or both) led to confusion over Robert Pattinson’s Batman. How do they coexist? Is there a multiverse? And why can’t the studio figure out how to utilize Henry Cavill as Superman? The actor has been mistreated by DC and Warner Bros. following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, botching everything about his initial Justice League appearance and basically leaving him in limbo with regards to Man of Steel 2.
But now we are hearing plans of actual movement on Superman’s return to the DC universe. In a lengthy article about a turning point for DC, The Hollywood Reporter states that Warner Bros. has “an intense desire” to bring Henry Cavill and his Man of Steel back into the fold of the DC movies. They suggest that a movie is out to potential writers, and that Mission: Impossible mastermind Christopher McQuarrie (who worked with Cavill on Mission: Impossible - Fallout) is in the mix.
Earlier this month, when we spoke with Dwayne Johnson about whether or not he plans to deliver a Black Adam vs. Superman movie in the near future, he told us:
Absolutely. That is the whole point of this man.
So we followed up on that point when we had the opportunity to discuss Black Adam with producer Hiram Garcia – a driving force behind Seven Bucks Productions. Specifically, we pushed Garcia on a potential encounter between Dwayne Johnson’s anti-hero and the beacon of light that is Superman, and asked directly if Henry Cavill had officially signed on for more movies as Superman in the DC Universe. And Garcia told us:
I'm not sure what's going on in that regard. He wanted to come back, we wanted him to come back, and we wanted to make sure that we were able to establish that (his) character exists in the same universe as Black Adam. We have large ambitions for things we’d like to do, however all of these items are still in the works so I am unable to provide exact updates. But just know that we are fighting for it.
How successful will they be? Let’s piece together a few key elements, and this is where we are going to get into spoilers.
So, if you are reading this far down, then you know (or want to learn) that Henry Cavill’s Superman does appear in a mid-credits scene in Black Adam. The Rock basically has been letting people know that this is happening via the recent Black Adam press tour. And when we spoke with Hiram Garcia about the scene that they shot with Henry Cavill for Black Adam, he opened up about how their pursuit for Cavill dates all the way back to a famous photo posted on Dwayne Johnson’s Instagram on Christmas Day, 2015 that showed he and Henry having a drink, sparking the flame of speculation. This one, right here:
As for the photo, Hiram Garcia remembered:
I remember taking that picture out in… I believe it was the back of DJ’s mother's house at the time, for a holiday event, I think it was. In Florida. And I remember snapping that picture. And now, to come full circle on it, it's a dream come true. But truly, it has been a family dream for Seven Bucks.
Now that the dream has started to come true, you understand why Hiram Garcia says that they are “fighting” so hard to get Henry Cavill’s name on the contract and solidify his return to the DC Universe. And not as a headless body, the way he was disgraced in Shazam. Garcia went on to tell CinemaBlend that their plans for Black Adam and Superman go far beyond one fight. He told us:
It's never been about a one off or just about a fight. No, it's about so much more than that. We really want to craft a long-form of storytelling and show that these two characters exist in the same universe and are going to have to deal with each other often, either on the same or opposite sides. Hopefully they're going to clash at some point, but it's not just about a ‘one fight’ situation. That was never our dream. That does not reward the fans. Fans want to feel a journey between these guys knowing that these guys exist in the same universe.
It all starts with Black Adam, which introduces Dwayne Johnson as the title character, the protector of Kahndaq and a thorn in the side of the Justice Society of America. You might assume that plans for future Black Adam stories will depend on the box office performance of this upcoming DC blockbuster, but all signs point to this train moving full speed ahead, so stay tuned for updates as they arrive.
