Dwayne Johnson went his separate ways from DC and Warner Bros. Discovery since the release of Black Adam, but that has not stopped the actor from being thrown under the bus for the recent release of Shazam: Fury of the Gods.Despite speculation that the Johnson DC film would lose money for Warner Bros. Discovery, Black Adam may have turned a profit. However, this remains disputed when factoring in costs, marketing, and how much the studio received from the film's box office gross. Even so, new information suggests that Shazam 2 might have performed better if Johnson hadn't vetoed plans for the film.The Wrap reported on insider claims that Johnson was a handful for Warner Bros. and that he is to blame for the box office failure of Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Reports suggest that the actor “vetoed ideas that would have seen Zachary Levi's Shazam cameo in a post-credits scene for Black Adam." While the scene would have linked Black Adam and Shazam 2, Johnson reportedly didn’t want any big superheroes showing up that weren’t Black Adam or Superman. According to "high-level Hollywood insiders," Johnson also nixed the Justice Society of America from appearing in Shazam 2's post-credits scene, forcing Safran's hand to resort to lower-tier Peacemaker characters. This comes directly after Shazam 2 director David Sandberg said Safran decided to have the Peacemaker characters in Shazam 2 after plans for other characters appearing fell apart "at the last minute."
The timing of these insider claims is interesting, especially if James Gunn and Peter Safran wanted to shift blame in an attempt to deflect from the responsibility of the Shazam sequel's failure, even though their involvement was limited, considering it was developed and filmed before they were appointed co-CEOs of DC Studios. However, it was reported that Johnson had to go behind certain executives for the Black Adam Henry Cavill Superman cameo, so it is hard to imagine that the actor had so much power that he could control what characters appeared in other DC movies. Regardless, if the insiders are correct, throwing its talent under the bus reflects toxic leadership on Warner Bros. Discovery, especially when its dirty laundry has been aired publicly.
Former studio executive Walter Hamada was happy to go along with Johnson's campaign to center the DC universe around himself as long as it benefited the company. Now Johnson is no longer at Warner Bros. Regardless of Johnson's alleged actions, there are several other reasons why Shazam! Fury of the Gods did not do well, including James Gunn announcing his DC slate amid upcoming DCEU films, minimal marketing, and less-than-stellar reviews.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now available in theaters.
Source: The Wrap