The DCEU’s saga of significant casting changes and reboots is still going, with tales from the ordeal growing more bizarre with each revelation. In a new report, stories surrounding Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson shed new light on how the actor’s relationship with Warner Bros. soured, including details on the film’s budgeting woes.
According to Variety, Johnson, along with Black Adam producers Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn, “ruffled feathers” after they “went around everyone” to pitch CEO David Zaslav on their vision for Black Adam, Henry Cavill’s Superman, and DC. Some of the report’s sources denied Black Adam’s future came up for discussion but confirmed Zaslav did meet with the trio.
Part of Johnson’s alleged plans for himself and Cavill also included a showdown between Black Adam and Superman, with Cavill reprising the role. As previously reported, former DC Films president Walter Hamada initially shot down the suggestion of Cavill making a cameo appearance in Black Adam. However, Johnson later appealed to Hamada’s replacements, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, who gave the green light during reshoots.
While the “secret” meeting may have built some ill will, Variety’s report chronicles a longer series of events that further strained Johnson’s relationship with WB and tacked on added expense to Black Adam’s budget. In one such account, Johnson demanded a tequila bar featuring his brand, Teremana, be set up for the PG-13 film’s premiere.
Black Adam’s December debut didn’t do much to move the needle at the box office, either. While the film started its first week strong and is expected to break even, reshoots added a hefty $40 million to its total costs. In regards to Johnson’s expectations at DC, one of Variety’s sources added, “His demands increased and the returns just weren’t there.”
The road to this point has been a rocky one. In 2022, when asked about the potential of a future brawl between Black Adam and Superman, Johnson responded, “Absolutely. That is the whole point of this. There’s a new era in the DC universe that’s about to begin.” The actor later said he and his team “weren’t going to take no for an answer” when it came to bringing Cavill back as Superman.
Ultimately, Cavill’s reprisal as the Man of Steel was announced and then canned, and Johnson parted ways with the DCEU. Gunn and Safran have begun to outline their master plan for the next generation of DC films, and the dust from the Warner Discovery merger seems to be settling. Regardless, accounts of internal turmoil and recent departures seem to indicate that last year’s power vacuum at DC caused plenty of strife.
Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She’s worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today’s FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.
