On the heels of Dwayne Johnson giving a disappointing update for a potential sequel, James Gunn has commented on scrapping future Black Adam DC Universe plans. Gunn and The Conjuring producer Peter Safran were recently tapped to co-lead the new DC Studios, developing a decade-long plan for the interconnected universe that has seen a variety of major changes, including the exit of Henry Cavill’s Superman and the shelving of Wonder Woman 3 plans. Now, another major figure is finding their DCU future in turmoil.
This week saw Dwayne Johnson take to Twitter to reveal that future Black Adam DCU plans have been scrapped as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s 10-year plan for the franchise. Gunn has since commented on this shift, expressing his love for the actor/producer and assuring he intends to collaborate with him and his production company in the future. See Gunn’s response below:
Could Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam Return In Future DC Movie?
The confirmation of scrapping future Black Adam DCU plans may not come as much of a surprise to those following the recent wave of announcements from the franchise, especially that of Cavill’s Superman return being nixed. The Man of Steel actor made his long-awaited return as the Kryptonian hero in Black Adam‘s post-credits scene, something Johnson not only pushed to make happen, but even went around former DC head Walter Hamada to ensure came to fruition. In the lead up to the film’s release, Johnson expressed a lot of excitement for what the future would hold for Black Adam, namely that a potential Black Adam 2 would bring him one step closer to a full-on fight between him and Superman.
While a sequel may not be moving forward, it doesn’t inherently mean the door is entirely shut for Johnson’s Black Adam to continue in the DCU. As the actor himself noted in his announcement, the antihero is said not to have fit in Gunn and Safran’s “first chapter of storytelling” for the DCU, seemingly indicating that the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker could be taking a similar approach to Kevin Feige with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, breaking various releases down into thematic phases. With this plan said to encompass 10 years of storytelling, a future chapter in the franchise could see Gunn and Safran have a reason to bring Johnson’s Black Adam back to the fold.
Considering much of Gunn and Safran’s vision appears to be a soft reboot approach, Johnson’s note of his working with the two to find a way to utilize Black Adam “in future DC multiverse chapters” could be the other way he makes his way back to the fold. Ezra Miller’s The Flash movie has long been expected to serve as a soft reboot for the franchise as it dives into the multiverse, and with Gunn already ushering out Cavill’s Superman and leaving Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman future in limbo, it may be possible to bring Johnson back in a pseudo-canon story in the same vein as Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, should the recently released Black Adam not fit into Gunn’s vision. While audiences await further updates on the DCU, they can revisit Johnson’s franchise debut now streaming on HBO Max.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter