Dwayne Johnson likes to take charge of his films. During his time at DC, he made sure that “Black Adam” and even “Shazam 2” were modified to his liking.
According to Dwayne Johnson, Black Adam and Shazam have nothing to do with each other (Source: Themoviedb.org/Collage: Netzwelt)
- “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Black Adam” share a fate: Both DC films fell short of expectations.
- Now it has become known that “Black Adam” leading actor Dwayne Johnson actively changed through his influence at DC at the time.
- Johnson’s goal was to make Black Adam the most important new character in the DCEU alongside Superman.
After both “Black Adam” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” crash-landed at the box office and DC is generally committed to a new start, one can safely assume that we both characters, at least in the current cast, not again will see again.
It looked very different not so long ago. “Black Adam” seemed to give the DC cinematic universe a new direction – especially as Dwayne Johnson touted the relevance of his new antihero like a mantra. The success of the film was important to Johnson, since he was not only involved as a leading actor, but also as a producer.
However, following the failure of Black Adam, reports began to appear that Johnson wanted to actively shape the future of the DC Universe, making demands that Warner Bros. were reluctant to accept, not wanting to spoil a potentially long-term partnership with Johnson. It’s no longer a thought, and a new report from The Wrap reveals how Dwayne Johnson actively transformed Black Adam and Shazam!
You have to know that Black Adam in the comics is actually “only” an opponent of Shazam who has the same powers. Black Adam later became a more complex character, yet he was primarily a Shazam antagonist.
However, Johnson did not want Black Adam to play second fiddle in a “Shazam” film and demanded a film of his own in which Black Adam himself is the true hero. Johnson also prevented a planned end-credits scene in the film that would have starred Zachary Levi as Shazam.
Instead, Johnson pulled out all the stops to bring Henry Cavill back to the DC Universe as Superman after DC actually ended working with Cavill. Johnson wanted to ensure that Black Adam and Superman would be at the center of the DC Universe in the future, the big highlight would have been a duel between the two.
New ending for “Shazam 2”
Anyone who has already seen “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” knows the end credits scene in which Shazam is recruited by Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) for the Justice Society of America. Both characters are known from the series “Peacemaker” and the film “The Suicide Squad”.
As director David F. Sandberg admits in an interview with THR, it doesn’t really make sense for these two characters to visit Shazam, but their appearance was just a plan B. The Justice Society of America itself was supposed to appear in “Shazam! 2”. , but this appearance was prevented by Dwayne Johnson three days before the actual scene was shot.
In this way, too, Johnson wanted to separate the worlds of Shazam and Black Adam a little further. Ultimately, Johnson’s meddling in DC’s plans will have no meaning in the long run, but this behavior reflects badly on Johnson, as his actions served solely his DC character and not the good of the DC Universe as a whole.
Should Black Adam return to the big screens one day, Dwayne Johnson will probably only be sitting in the audience.
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