You never want to put your cart before the horse in the movie business. Even projects that seem like certifiable slam dunks find a way to slam into obstacles instead, preventing fans from getting the team up or crossover for which they have been dreaming. So many factors can creep in and disrupt the creative process, from scheduling and contracts to something like theaters having to temporarily close as the world dealt with situations. Still, a Hollywood powerhouse like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seems to understand how to get things done, and so now that he is playing the DC anti-hero Black Adam in a blockbuster, we had to ask if a crossover film with Superman was in the cards. And his answer will get fans very excited.
Dwayne Johnson hasn’t backed away from name dropping Superman while on the press tour for Black Adam, claiming that his new character is every bit as strong as the Man of Steel, and teasing the possible appearances of Superman (Henry Cavill) or even Shazam (Zachary Levi) in his DC origin story. Because he has been so bullish on a crossover event with Superman at some point, I flat out asked Dwayne Johnson if he intends to make a movie where Black Adam fights Kal-El. And the mega-star candidly told me:
Absolutely. That is the whole point of this man. Thank you for asking that. And I have been saying for some time, there's a new era in the DC Universe that's about to begin. And what I meant by that was introducing a brand new character. It's not a sequel, not an existing IP. It was...you know, Black Adam! Two years ago the world had no idea who he was. We did, but not, you know, the rest of the mass out there. Introducing the JSA, introducing that new era of the DC universe. But also what I really meant by, ‘This is a new era in the DC Universe,’ is listening to the fans. Listening to the fans. And doing our best to give the fans what they want. And maybe, sometime down the road — and I went through this in pro wrestling — is you can't always give them what you want. But you'll always know that we're listening. And in this case, with what you and I are talking about, I have been listening and I've been wanting to address fans for years. Because I've been waiting for someone to step up and address the fans and say, ‘Hey, we hear you.’ So finally, after many months turned into many years, we ended up with what we ended up at. And the whole goal and intention now is to this new era, new time. Now let's build out.
Why wouldn’t Warner Bros. want this? One of the most popular and successful MCU movies is Captain America: Civil War, which pit Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) against Captain America (Chris Evans). Additionally, every time the Marvel heroes teamed up for Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame, audience members turned out in droves. The Rock is not exaggerating when he says that DC fans have been clamoring for a Black Adam v Superman showdown, particularly if it involves the return of Henry Cavill. So hearing The Rock say “Absolutely” when asked if this is happening is incredibly encouraging.
Of course, WB and DC also tried to make a Justice League movie, and fumbled that task badly. So there’s no guaranteeing that a Superman crossover with Black Adam would work. But we really want to see them try, so that movie can be part of the list of upcoming DC movies that we are awaiting. While we wait to see how that shakes out, grab tickets to Black Adam, which is arriving in theaters on October 21.
