The Rock And Warner Bros.' Relationship May Not Have Been So Hot Even Before Black Adam Flopped

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Sounds like things haven't been great between Dwayne Johnson and WB for a while now.

 

 

 

 

At the end of October, the long-awaited Black Adam premiered in theaters, giving audiences a fight between the title character and the Justice Society, as well bringing in Henry Cavill’s Superman for the post-credits scene. However, along with Black Adam earning mixed reviews, it underwhelmed at the box office, making only $391.5 million worldwide as of this writing. Since then, the DC movies landscape has significantly changed, and Johnson’s relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures isn’t as hot as had once been thought, although apparently this divide occurred even before Black Adam flopped in theaters.

Over the years, Dwayne Johnson has talked about his desire to see Black Adam and Superman fight each other on the big screen,  and per an extensive report from Variety, following the Warner Bros./Discovery merger in April 2022, Johnson pitched CEO David Zaslav his “multiyear plan” for these characters, with Black Adam producers Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn also involved. This meeting took place around the time that then-DC Films head Walter Hamada and Warner Bros. president Toby Emmerich were gearing to leave the studio, but Johnson’s pitch nonetheless reportedly didn’t “sit well” with people at WB because he “went around everyone.”

The internal drama reportedly didn’t end there. The Dwayne Johnson/Warner Bros. relationship was also “strained” by the former asking for a producing credit on DC League of Super-Pets (in which Johnson not only played lead character Krypto the Superdog, but also voiced an animated version of Black Adam and his dog Anubis), yet “did little to promote” the movie. Furthermore, Johnson allegedly ruffled feathers when he “insisted” that the Black Adam New York premiere have a tequila bar featuring his Teremana brand, despite the fact that Black Adam is rated PG-13. As an unnamed source put it:

" His demands increased and the returns just weren’t there. "

So where do we stand with Dwayne Johnson, Warner Bros. and the Black Adam property now? Well, first off, let’s remember that the newly-created DC Studios is being run by James Gunn and Peter Safran, and among the big waves they’ve already made is officially dismissing Henry Cavill as Superman in favor of rebooting the Man of Steel. Additionally, just a few days before Christmas, Johnson announced on social media that Black Adam will not be part of the “first chapter of storytelling” in the new DC universe, but DC and his production company Seven Bucks “have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters.” 

Going off Dwayne Johnson’s statement, while Black Adam 2 isn’t in the cards for now, there is the possibility he could reprise the Man in Black again. That said, if The Rock’s relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures is as tumultuous as reported, then one has to wonder just how strong of a possibility this is. Regardless, CinemaBlend will continue to keep you informed on all the biggest happenings concerning upcoming DC movies. For now, feel free to stream Black Adam now with your HBO Max subscription.