Dwayne Johnson played the role of Teth Adam in the DCEU film Black Adam, which was a failure at the box office and received middling reviews. However, the story behind the film’s making is more fascinating than the movie itself (which is not a huge feat but still). But, in the end, as Linkin Park said, it did not even matter as the franchise eventually got a reboot.
Johnson was set to change the hierarchy of power in the DC universe, but ended up promising too many things and delivering zilch. The Rock’s journey to becoming Black Adam and his desire to be the centre of the DCEU was a long one indeed, which involved him trying to get his hands on other IPs as well.
Before Dwayne Johnson became Black Adam, he wanted to be Green Lantern
Dwayne Johnson’s tryst with the DC franchise began way before the DCEU even took baby steps. First approached for the role of Shazam before he chose Black Adam instead in 2007, the actor slowly tried to be the center of the DC universe and reportedly even tried to campaign himself as various characters from the comics.
Apart from Shazam and Black Adam, Johnson reportedly also had eyes on Lobo (currently set to be played by Jason Momoa in James Gunn’s DCU) and Green Lantern. For the longest time, Johnson reportedly tried to rally support for himself as the John Stewart version of the character. While he did not directly do it, there were several indirect instances.
He tried to gain traction by posting the hashtag ‘John Stewart Can Still Whup Superman’s A*s’ in a random post (via Instagram) and then tried to act coy about it by reposting a tweet from IGN at the time. The prospect of him playing Green Lantern may have died down due to its possible effect on the Green Lantern Corps project that WB planned for at the time.
Dwayne Johnson ultimately became Black Adam in the DCEU. He tried to rally more support from fans for his character by bringing in Henry Cavill’s Superman for a cameo, which unfortunately for the Man of Steel star did not lead anywhere. Ultimately, Johnson did zilch to change the hierarchy of power in the DC universe.
Dwayne Johnson’s DC takeover included vetoing prized cameos in Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Dwayne Johnson has the very unique knack for taking something that is incredible and turning it into an opportunity to promote himself. He is the man who saw Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in a 70mm IMAX projection and immediately thought not of the incredible experience it might have been, but about Red One being screened with the same tech.
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So, when it came to his DC character’s arch nemesis getting a push, he turned into a real antagonist and reportedly blocked many ideas for Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The Wrap reported that Johnson blocked a cameo of Zachary Levi as Shazam in a post-credits scene in Black Adam, in favor of Henry Cavill’s Superman.
He also reportedly thwarted cameos from the Justice Society of America in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. A story regarding these rumors was reposted by Levi himself, giving rise to speculations that Johnson did a lot of meddling with DC’s plans for a more cohesive franchise in order to serve his own stardom.
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