Dwayne Johnson teases fight between Black Adam and Superman
Black Adam star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson revealed that fans will eventually see his infamous DC anti-hero character square off against the Man of Steel.
Speaking to Total Film, the 49-year-old actor teased that a fight between Black Adam and Superman is about to happen at some point in the DCEU, noting that the actor who will be suiting up opposite his DC villain is yet to be known.
“So to me, there’s a battle that’s going to go down one day, between Black Adam and Superman,” Johnson said. “I don’t know who that Superman is going to be, and I don’t know who’s going to play him. That’s OK. I don’t need to know right now. But I’m confident in knowing that [laughs]. And that’s based out of what fans want. We worked backwards from there.”
Although the Red Notice star is unsure which actor will be portraying the role of Superman in the near future, it’s worth mentioning that Johnson posted a photo of him and Henry Cavill on Instagram in 2016, teasing fans that they are “excited for what the future brings.”
As of now, Cavill, who played Superman in several DC films including 2017’s Justice League, remains open in reprising his role as the Man of Steel.
“There is still a lot of storytelling for me to do as a Superman, and I would absolutely love the opportunity,” Cavill previously told The Hollywood Reporter.
Aside from Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin’s TV version of Clark Kent, a reboot of Superman, with Michael B. Jordan playing the Black incarnation of Kal-El, is currently in development. The upcoming reboot, however, would likely be a standalone film such as Todd Philips' Joker and Matt Reeves' The Batman.
Meanwhile, Johnson also talked about avoiding the "pitfalls" of previous DC films, saying that it’s vital for them to build the characters properly in Black Adam.
"You get one shot out of the gates to build these characters properly," Johnson said. "We paid attention to some of the pitfalls that other films had experienced in the past, in the world of DC, and what, rightfully, got a lot of fans unhappy and pissed – and, as a fan, I was one of them.”
"So, let’s make sure we respect tradition and mythology, but let’s not be handcuffed creatively. We can do anything if we keep the audience first,” he added.
Johnson earlier teased that the hierarchy of power in the DCEU will change when Black Adam officially flies into action. In the upcoming superhero film, Johnson’s anti-hero is expected to face off against the members of the Justice League of America, which includes Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate.
First announced in 2017 and originally planned to appear in 2019’s Shazam!, Johnson’s Black Adam is among the most-awaited movies in the DCEU, which include Andrés Muschietti’s The Flash, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Black Adam is set to debut in theaters on July 29, 2022.