Black Adammade it to theaters last month in no small part thanks to the resolute stance ofDwayne Johnson,who petitioned Warner Bros. to give the anti-hero his own origin story rather than having him introduced inShazam! While it now seems like the two characters are set to meet at some point in the DCU’s future, it has been reported that Johnson doesn’t really like theShazam!franchise at all. This could make for exciting times going forward, especially withShazamproducer Peter Safran now being one-half of DC Studios’ driving force with James Gunn.
Shazam andBlack Adamare essentially two halves of the same coin in DC’s comics and have been facing off against each other for decades. When Zachary Levi first appeared as Shazam it was initially planned that Black Adam would also appear in the movie, but this was something that Dwayne Johnson lobbied against, putting forward his case for the character to get his own solo movie before the two ever meet. With that clash now seeming inevitable thanks to the evolving DCU plan, a report has revealed some slightly worrying news that Johnson doesn’t have much time for Levi’s movie.
According toThe Wrap,Gunn and Safranhave a task ahead of them to bring some continuity to the DCU, and that will involve getting everyone currently involved in the franchise on the same page creatively. With Johnson not afraid to push against the grain, it could be a long haul ahead. The report stated:
“Safran needs to win over all the other filmmakers… and Dwayne Johnson’s thinly veiled disdain for Shazam means he probably isn’t loving the idea that his boss is now the guy that produces ‘Shazam.’ Safran is pretty diplomatic, so I think he will pull it off but it won’t be easy.”
Related:Black Adam Will Eventually Crossover with Shazam, Says Dwayne Johnson
When Will Black Adam Fight Shazam?
Although these rumors of Johnson not being particularly fond ofShazamcould suggest that there may be issues coming to the DCU before it really gets going, Johnson has already addressed bringing Black Adam and Shazam together. Whatever he thinks of the previous outing of the character, he certainly has respect for the source material, and that fueled his belief that both characters should be introduced on their own merits before being thrown together. He previously said:
“It was just a mosh of ‘just put them both together because they’re both connected.’ So that’s when I said ‘you can’t do it like this, we have to respect Shazam and his origin story, that has to be its own movie. Respect Black Adam, this has to be its own movie. Build them up, and then you can do this.'”
Going forward, it looks like the output of the DCU will adopt a Marvel approach of building up expectations before delivering on them. Having very quickly escalated fromMan of Steel,to Batman vs. Supermanand thenJustice League, this time around, it looks like there will be a longer form of storytelling put into play that willbring Henry Cavill’s Superman backto the fore of the franchise and feature Black Adam and Shazam as two lynchpins of the franchise.
