Dwayne Johnson had big plans for Black Adam, but they curiously didn’t include Shazam. Does he dislike Zachary Levi’s franchise?
After over a decade of effort, Zack Snyder’s DC universe may have concluded. A new era is coming with James Gunn and Peter Safran steering the ship. If the DCEU really is over, it couldn’t have ended in a better place. Fans loved Black Adam, Dwayne Johnson’s passion project of 15 years. He went into the project with a lot of ambition and hoped to change the power dynamic of DC. However, not many people were on board with his vision.
Johnson had big ideas of who he thought Black Adam was and what his journey would be, but none of them seemed to include Shazam, his comic book rival. The two characters have been at odds since 1945, so of course they should cross paths on film. So, why did Johnson keep his character from appearing in Shazam!? Why was there no mention of his red-clad enemy in his film? Does Johnson hate Shazam? If so, why?
Why Dwayne Johnson Dislikes Shazam
To be fair, there is no definitive proof that Johnson dislikes Shazam. The actor has always been in touch with what fans want, and he likely knows that if there is one thing comic fans hate most, it’s messing with the source material. However, the evidence does not paint him in a good light. The Rock reportedly turned down a cameo appearance in Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and in the years Black Adam spent in development, he insisted that his character and Zachary Levi’s stay as distant as possible.
Now, that could have just been a creative choice, as Johnson thought important DC characters should be developed with stand-alone films. Black Adam may very well have been a test run of this idea. But doubts about his involvement with Shazam were further exacerbated when reports of his vision were released. Johnson was very high on Teth-Adam beefing with and eventually fighting Superman, which led to Henry Cavill’s brief return as the character. There were no plans discussed of Adam meeting Billy Batson.
Johnson is said to dislike the Shazam franchise, reportedly harboring a thinly-veiled disdain for the film made by Peter Safran. It’s only a rumor, though. Johnson himself has said while promoting Black Adam that his character would eventually meet Shazam, but only after both characters got their respective stories fleshed out first before throwing them together. But given how determined he was for Adam to jump into conflict with the face of DC himself, it’s left to the imagination how serious he was about the idea. He may not have liked their films’ conflicting tones, with his being more serious, while Levi’s was largely light-hearted. That being said, it has happened before that characters from differently-toned films successfully crossed over.
Johnson’s DC FutureWarner Bros. Pictures
Since Black Adam‘s release, the power dynamic in the DC Universe did indeed change, just not the way Johnson intended. Following years of lackluster releases, Warner Bros decided it was time for a change and named Peacemaker director James Gunn and Shazam! producer Peter Safran as the new chairmen of DC Studios. And rather than continue the universe started by Zack Snyder, they elected to start from scratch. Unfortunately, that left Johnson’s character in the now mostly-defunct universe. And rather than work for one of the creators of his character’s nemesis — whom he may or may not like — Johnson has decided that he is done with DC movies. However, he stated in a lengthy explanation of his departure that he and Seven Bucks Studios would continue to explore future stories for Black Adam and related characters.
Gunn recently unveiled the slate for the new era of DC Studios, and it’s unlike anything fans could have expected. Despite starting a new universe altogether, the door doesn’t seem to be closed on Snyder’s universe, as multiple characters will be returning for future solo outings. On top of that, It’s being said that for some of these projects, all characters introduced are on the table to return. Who’s to say that fans won’t see The Rock’s Black Adam again? But that would depend on whether or not he wants to bring his beloved character back in an era where he isn’t in control.
