Highlights
- Black Adam's sequel was dropped from DC Studios' schedule due to changes in leadership and mixed reviews, which led to Johnson expressing his frustration.
- The decision to cancel the Black Adam sequel was influenced by financial expectations and a shift in leadership at DC Studios.
- Johnson believes that the Black Adam project was not considered based on audience reception and is disappointed that it was dropped from a creative standpoint.
After the release of Black Adam in October 2022 and some praise from audiences, actor Dwayne Johnson was excited to keep working on his years-long passion project and keep expanding on the superhero's story. But as DC Studios changed leadership and its focus shifted towards other projects, the Black Adam sequel was dropped from the company's schedule. Almost a year later, Johnson seems to throw shade at the studio's exec for taking this decision.
Upon its premiere, Black Adam was received with mixed reviews. It received an 88 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and earned $391 million globally. The movie delivered the biggest opening of Johnson's career, yet it was still a box office disappointment for not surpassing its financial expectation. On the other hand, the film was not as well received by critics, who gave it 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. While it is still not clear why the sequel was dropped, it might've been a mixture of Black Adam's box office failure and the mixed reviews that led to the new leadership of DC Studios, headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran, to make this decision.
Now, almost a year since the film came out, Johnson is still trying to figure out why the Black Adam sequel was canceled, but he believes he has found the answer. In a recent appearance in Kevin Heart's Peacock show Hart to Heart, the comedian asked Johnson how he felt about DC's decision to halt the story. "Black Adam got caught in a vortex of new leadership," the actor explained, "and at the time, as we were creating Black Adam, developing it, shooting Black Adam... it was so many changes in leadership." Such changes are references to Gunn taking over DC Studios in October 2022.
Johnson explained that when companies with such a large magnitude and power like DC undergo a leadership change, it is difficult to agree with all the new fiscal and creative decisions. Johnson emphasized leadership is one of the main reasons why the Black Adam project is not happening and that it being dropped "will always be one of the biggest mysteries." The actor also explained how it bothered him that the Black Adam sequel was not considered based on an audience's point of view but rather from a financial one. "When you think about opportunity and creating opportunity and creating things that are fresh and delivering for the audience, which is our number one boss, when that wasn't looked at through that lens, it makes things a little bit more challenging," the actor said.
This is not Johnson's first public disagreement with Gunn's decision. Earlier this year, Johnson was asked to comment on DC's decision to recast Henry Cavill's Superman despite his return in Black Adam, to which he implied it was a decision akin to throwing out an athlete with proven success. "It’s almost like when you have a pro football team, and your quarterback wins championships, and your head coach wins championships, and then a new owner comes in and says, 'not my coach, not my quarterback. I'm going to go with somebody new.'"
While a Black Adam sequel is not in the works, this does not mean the character will be tossed out entirely from the DC universe. In December 2022, when Johnson announced that plans for a sequel had halted, he said, "DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters." However, appearances of the superhero have yet to be announced in the future of the DC universe.
Black Adam is available on Max.
Source: Peacock