‘Black Adam’ Star Dwayne Johnson Hints Former Warner Bros. Executives Declined Henry Cavill’s Return In Favor of J.J. Abrams’ BIPOC Superman
JB Augustine
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The mystery of why it took so long to bring Henry Cavill back to screens as Superman isn’t really a mystery.
Source: Man of Steel (2013), Warner Bros. Pictures
The suspicion for the longest time, bolstered by their own admission they wished to move away from the Snyderverse, has been Warner Bros. executives in the old regime — especially Ann Sarnoff and Walter Hamada — were getting in the way.
Despite other reports claiming that it was a money or scheduling issue with Cavill, his Black Adam co-star Dwayne Johnson confirmed it was the former brass who kept declining.
Source: Black Adam (2022), Warner Bros. Pictures
“I feel that this serves not only Black Adam but it serves a larger DC Universe,” Johnson stated on a recent red carpet. “But, man, more importantly than that, it takes care of the fans. And that’s what you want your lead foot to be.”
He added, “So, yes. Phone calls, meetings but, man, it was years. This was six years to get that done. I’m going to say that again, six years we first started talking about this and they kept saying no.”
Source: Man of Steel (2013), Warner Bros. Pictures
And in conclusion, he stressed, “Now, that leadership isn’t there anymore, because we usher in a new era in the DC Universe and we usher out an old era.”
Twitter user and scooper @AjepArts found the clip of Johnson’s remarks and shared it.
For those who doubt Rocks influence in getting Superman back, he explains he started working on this 6 years ago, for 6 years the old leadership at WB kept saying no to it. Shazam was always guaranteed let’s be real. But Superman? Old regime had no care for him. pic.twitter.com/GTvxW8MtCN
— AJ | 🏳️🌈 | DOCTOR WHO era (@AjepArts) October 14, 2022
The direction for Superman WB wished to go under Hamada and Sarnoff was another reboot produced by JJ Abrams and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates that told the tale of a BIPOC Kryptonian who conquers racism and prejudice to become President.
No drafts for this idea that sounds loosely based on the Elseworld Calvin Ellis were submitted until last April, a year after it was announced, and it now appears dead in the water with the return of Cavill and the takeover of the studio by Discovery.
Source: Infinite Frontier: Secret Files #1 (2021), DC Comics. Cover art by Bryan Hitch.
Under the new entity of Warner Bros. Discovery, the priority is now to move forward with Man of Steel 2 after nearly ten years — plus the eventual one-on-one matchup pitting Cavill’s Supes against Black Adam.
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