Eight months after Dwayne Johnson posted an official statement regarding the cancellation of Black Adam under James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s leadership, the actor appeared on an episode of Kevin Hart‘s Hart to Hart talk show to delve into his thoughts surrounding the franchise.
The 2022 film launched a new chapter for the Warner Bros./DC Universe. While the film ended in a much-anticipated Superman return from Henry Cavill, the studio ultimately decided to pull the plug on his return and subsequently cancel any continued projects for Black Adam. Shortly after the release of Black Adam, Warner Bros. and DC Studios was overhauled with Gunn and Safran taking the reins. In response to Hart’s question regarding why the franchise was being pulled, Dwayne Johnson shared that it is because the franchise was “caught in a vortex of new leadership.”
Johnson continued to share, “It was so many changes in leadership. Anytime you have a company, a publicly traded company, and you have all those changes in leadership, you have people coming in who, creatively and fiscally, are going to make decisions that you may not agree with.” He continued to stress that the franchise was “caught in the web of new leadership,” although he does not completely understand why the character was dropped given its success and importance to the studio. He said, “That will always be one of the biggest mysteries. You have the biggest opening of your career. Sure, no China, which could’ve been maybe 100 or 200 million more dollars. You have a superhero and you want to grow out the franchise. You bring back Superman and Henry Cavill, which the world went crazy. And we created a diverse superhero portfolio, where we have just men and women of color in Black Adam.”
Black Adam was a high point for Johnson’s career earning $67 million USD at the box office. Watch his full explanation above.
In case you missed it, Gal Gadot recently said that she is developing “Wonder Woman 3 together” with James Gunn and Peter Safran.
