Canceling the Black Adam sequel is now being reported as the next order of business down at the DC Studios. With The Rock’s film creating enough ripples to bring a glimmer of hope even to those who had declared DC a lost cause, it surely was surprising when the film in totality couldn’t live up to the hype it initially instigated. But the failure to cross over into the $400 million category doesn’t define or diminish the contribution that was made by Black Adam to the DCU. Apparently, Warner Bros. doesn’t share the sentiment and is now considering pulling the plug on the sequel.
Also read: Black Adam Turns Out to be a Box Office DISASTER: Experts Predict Film Could Lose $50M-$100M
Black Adam Sequel Being Called Back Into the Vault at DCHQ
With The Rock making it a point to invite anyone and everyone who would listen to his Black Adam pitch to the theatres in hives, the promotional strategy that the actor used was a little out of the left field. Not many in the superhero industry are known to spoil their own movie to secure a box-office home run. But The Rock‘s insistence on repeating the same statement over and over again in interviews, tweets, promotional videos, fan Q&As, and even the premiere event, made the only big surprise a stale subject by the time the first week ended.
At the time, the execs and producers hadn’t made a mountain out of the molehill, but the simmering irritation was felt after the numbers started to disappoint. Over the course of the following weeks, partisans began speaking up about their disappointment that the Henry Cavill cameo was ruined before the movie had even premiered. On top of everything else, The Rock’s overbearing optimism, and his strategizing and undermining of the struggle that Black Adam was facing at the box office after breaking even, left a sour taste on DCU’s palette.
The factors when added up don’t surprise much when DC Studios insiders hinted that a Black Adam 2 is an unlikely option for the franchise moving forward. Moreover, The Rock has been directing the spotlight toward a more Black Adam-centric universe by hyping up expansion — “Now we’ll build out the JSA” — and by teasing a future Black Adam vs Superman showdown. Like the SnyderVerse, the customized vision that The Rock was presenting did not appeal to the new management. In that, history repeats itself by strong-arming yet another imposing presence out of the DC canvas to make room for the others in equal capacity.
Fans Side With The Rock Amid Black Adam 2 Cancellation
The Rock fought for an expansive vision by asking for a Black Adam solo instead of making the character a subplot in Shazam! He was also responsible for Henry Cavill’s return to the DCU, for the JSA to find a platform to play out in its formative entry, and for DC to find multiple viable spin-off projects from the screenplay that was presented. But with Henry Cavill’s future at DCU reportedly dead (again), the fans have taken to Twitter to call out the suits for sidelining The Rock’s vision — one that actually bothered listening to the fans by delivering them a non-headless Superman cameo.
The Henry Cavill cameo has been a dream come true for the fans indeed. But as has been made public, it was Warner Bros. Pictures duo Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy who finally gave the nod for the Superman cameo. The Rock’s reach didn’t extend, unfortunately, to David Zaslav or James Gunn and both being the ultimate authority on all things DCU, it’s unlikely that one cameo, or The Rock’s persuasive strategies, could amount to a rehashing of the DC Universe Bible to include a project that doesn’t fit in with James Gunn’s vision.
Black Adam is currently available for buying and renting on Apple TV, YouTube, and Prime Video.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
