The future of Warner Bros. and DC Comics cinematic universe will see its first big potential hit in months when Black Adam starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson opens Friday, but behind the scenes there’s inchoate vision and leadership.
Ever since Warner merged with Discovery and CEO David Zaslav took reigns, the DC Comics’ properties, which Zaslav has clearly stated he wants to see gain ground on Marvel, seems further from that goal than ever.
DC Comics’ s CEO Jim Lee and Johnson
Zaslav and Warner Bros. Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy unceremoniously tossed out Walter Hamada, who less than two years ago was being heralded as the company’s future. They started by burying a completely finished Batgirl movie, followed by a death march to virtually every film he had in development. Hamada wasn’t even at the Black Adam studio premiere last week.
To fans and the rest of the uninitiated it appears as if Johnson is running the show.
He’s not… yet.
Johnson has already, boldly, announced an Adam sequel that would feature Shazam!, who is his comics’ rival (both heroes gained their powers from the same wizard), as well as an inevitable showdown with Superman played by Henry Cavill (who will appear at the end of Adam). He also got the studio to announce a long awaited sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel starring Cavill.
Been asked this A LOT and my answer is no – we’re not chasing @MarvelStudios. That’s not smart. We’re @DCComics, JSA & JLA. There’s only one #BlackAdam and only one #Superman and we don’t chase anybody. I respect the game, but to me – we’re trailblazers & disrupters. LGF⚡️#DChttps://t.co/gGW9ZJ1DYx
And Johnson has been relentlessly promoting Black Adam ever since casting was announced.
And that initial announcement was in 2007; Fifteen years ago.
Back then, Johnson was rumored to be playing Shazam! and the release date remained a moving target only knowing that it would follow Zack Snyder’s Justice League movies and Ezra Miller in The Flash.
By the time Shazam! debuted in 2019, a full two years after he gave an impassioned speech about why Adam was a complicated anti-hero and not really a villain, the movie still hadn’t announced a director.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra was finally named following the wrap on Disney’s Jungle Cruise starring Johnson.
From there things moved faster than, well, er The Flash, even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Johnson got Warner Bros. to make the big official announcement at DC’s Fandome event in 2020. It was during that event that Johnson revealed the film would feature DC’s first superhero team and predecessors to the Justice League, the Justice Society of America.
Johnson posted the script on Instagram in April 2021.
Director Matt Reeves has quietly been carving out the world and denizens of his Gotham City following the success of The Batman.
