During his visit to Madrid, Dwayne Johnson He couldn’t be more excited. He’s a man who’s been in franchises like The Momia, Fast and Furious there Jumanji and who achieved the title of highest paid actor in Hollywood, And even so, he was grinning from ear to ear for what seemed to be the project that would forever mark his career: black adam.
DC’s anti-hero wasn’t just an acid film, which tried to show its own formula and delved into a very particular mythology; Rather, it sought to be the reboot of a cinematic universe that hasn’t resurfaced since its first major crossover, Justice League. And he, in addition to being in charge of the project, He had a lot to say about his character… Maybe too much.
Johnson not only wore the cape of one of the most anticipated villains for viewers in recent years, but also moved heaven and earth to find Superman himself. Black Adam’s post-credits scenes brought fans back to Henry Cavill as a man of steel, something he was so proud of that he didn’t mind spoilers during interviews – in fact, he asked reporters what they thought of his comeback, regardless of the big surprise on the tape.
But ambition consumed Black Adam himself, and in an effort to put his character ahead of others, he ended up forgetting the very nature of the anti-hero. And it’s not that the movie kept reminding him: he has the same powers as Shazam, they have to say the same magic word to transform, and they even wear the same costume! However, it seems he was only determined to stand up to Superman.
This ending made it clear that it could happen sooner rather than later, though the actor made it clear to LOS40 that his priority was to continue building the DC Extended Universe: “I can tell you that a fight between Black Adam and Superman would be the most important thing. A fight between Shazam and Black Adam, it’s huge. A fight between Shazam, Black Adam and Superman? It’s also huge, but these are great moments that we can work on. Above all, there is a long-term story that we want to focus on before this happens.” He told us in October 2022.
Even so, whatever decision-making power he might have acquired ended up being lost with a box office that didn’t recoup the studios’ investment—34 million was left—and Black Adam seemed more defeated than anybody. another DC villain. This, yes, what no one expected was that a showdown with Zachary Levi would happen before Shazam.
“The truth will set you free”
The premiere of Shazam! The fury of the gods It was once again a failure for DC, and although some attribute it to belonging to a cinematic universe immersed in the most absolute anarchy, there are others who assure that it is because of his null connection with Black Adam. The film about his nemesis has already been released, for which there was hardly any excuse to continue prolonging this meeting -or at least, an indication that it would take place-… Or maybe yes, and big enough.
As published by US media The envelope, the plans for the film were going to be very different from what was ultimately shown to viewers. As seen in one of their post-credits scenes, the characters of Emilia Harcourt and John Economos return – Amanda Waller’s workers – to recruit Shazam for the Justice Society of America.
However, it wasn’t them, but the team’s own heroes – with Hawkman at the helm – who convinced Shazam to join this supergroup. Additionally, the same website confirms that Levi could have starred in the Black Adam post-credits scene, something that was not done after Johnson’s own refusal.
Zachary Levi apparently reveals that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson didn’t allow ‘Black Adam’ characters to appear in the ‘Shazam 2’ credits, nor did he allow Shazam to appear in the ‘Shazam 2’ credits. credits of “Black Adam”. pic.twitter.com/RvQP5du8Ur
—PopCrave (@PopCrave) March 21, 2023
This information, although verified by the media, became a throwing weapon after Zachary Levi included it in his Instagram account with “the truth will set you free”. A dagger that, far from blaming his coworker in the universe—who also— once again makes it clear that the DC Universe continues to ignore whatever it might aspire to.
The article, however, doesn’t lay all the blame on The Rock: the changes Warner goes through are still a heavy burden on its heroes, so it’s all in the hands of the future. No Shazam or Black Adam, just the flash he can bring the old DC out of the cinema in style to make way for the new. So, as if this were an action comedy script, Ezra Miller is ultimately responsible for saving the entire multiverse.
Shazam! The fury of the gods It’s already in theaters.