‘Black Adam’ Star Dwayne Johnson Further Explains The Struggle To Get Henry Cavill Back As Superman: “‘No’ Was Never An Option”

JB Augustine |

Nov 4, 2022

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Black Adam in Black Adam (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures

The star of Black Adam and global box office attraction Dwayne Johnson recently confirmed all the speculation that he fought for years to regain for Henry Cavill his place in the DC Universe as Superman, only to be told no every time for half a decade.

Now that every executive in the way is gone, however, the tide has turned and he is able to be candid about the test WarnerMedia put him through.

“We fought for years to bring you back,” Johnson said via Variety concerning the return of Cavill’s Superman. “They always said no. But for [producers] Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia & myself ‘no’ was never an option.”

He continued, “We can’t intelligently & strategically build out our DC Universe without the greatest superhero of all time. Because for us, the fans will always come first.”

Johnson learned the value of the fans and their wants when he was starting out at the bottom of the wrestling industry where the fandom is very vocal. “As wild as it sounds, I learned that ‘fans first’ philosophy back when I wrestled in flea markets for $40 bucks a match well before the bright lights of WWE,” he added.

Johnson finished his remarks with a salutation to Cavill as if he is the true Man of Steel and a sign-off teasing bigger things. “Welcome home, Superman,” he said. “I’ll see you down the road….”

Down the road, we are sure to see, at least at this stage, the inevitable and oft-teased showdown between The Last Son of Krypton and The Man In Black. Johnson stated recently that was the goal and “the whole point” although it’s not going to be a “one-off,” which Hiram Garcia maintains. No, they are going to take their time.

“It’s never been about a one-off or just about a fight,” Garcia told CinemaBlend. “No, it’s about so much more than that. We really want to craft a long form of storytelling and show that these two characters exist in the same universe and are going to have to deal with each other often, either on the same or opposite sides.”

He added, “Hopefully, they’re going to clash at some point, but it’s not just about a ‘one fight’ situation. That was never our dream.”

Arguably, there is no good reason to waste this opportunity on a one-and-done fistfight — albeit for the ages — after laboring this long to make it happen.

Everybody has waited so long that they might as well relish the moment, much as Henry Cavill is doing. “It was important for me to be standing there and enjoying that moment,” the actor said, during an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, in regard to filming the post-credits scene for Black Adam in his Man of Steel costume.

No one can deny the actor is enjoying his return to DC or that he isn’t committed. He quit Netflix’s The Witcher to focus totally on old Big Blue and Variety also reports in their coverage that a MOS sequel “is in early development with producer Charles Roven” and “currently soliciting pitches from writers.”

Big things are brewing — yes, beyond The Flash.

NEXT: Henry Cavill Hints At Top Secret ‘Man of Steel’ Sequel That Will See A “More Joyful” Superman