Dwayne Johnson talks about his attempt to bring Henry Cavill back as Superman

As you know, Dwayne Johnson tried so hard to get Henry Cavill returned to the DCU as Superman, and while he appeared briefly in Black Adam, James Gunn AND Peter Safran they ultimately decided that Cavill’s version of Superman had no place in their future DC film plans. So after all the effort Johnson and Cavill put in to make that happen, it was shut down.

During a recent interview with Johnson on the red carpet at the Oscars, he was asked if Cavill’s Superman had been dropped from the DC Universe despite the excitement over his return. He replied by saying:

“All I could do, and all we could do when we were making ‘Black Adam,’ was do our best, surround ourselves with the best people and make the best movie possible. Our audience score was in the 90s. The critics have taken a few knocks, but that’s just the problem.

“It’s almost like when you have a pro football team and your quarterback wins championships and your coach wins championships and then a new owner comes along and says, ‘Not my coach, not my quarterback. I’m going with someone new.’”

Johnson is obviously referring to new DC Studios bosses Gunn and Safran. By reintroducing Cavill’s Superman in Black Adam, Johnson was laying the groundwork for his own version of the DC Universe, which would see Black Adam and Superman’s relationship play out over the course of multiple films. Producer Hiram Garcia She said:

“We really want to create a long form of storytelling and show that these two characters exist in the same universe and will have to confront each other often, both on the same side and on opposite sides. Hopefully, they will clash at some point, but it’s not just a “one clash” situation. It has never been our dream. This doesn’t reward the fans. Fans want to feel a journey between these kids knowing these kids exist in the same universe.

Now, Johnson said he and James Gunn have hooked up, “and Black Adam won’t be in their first chapter of the narrative. However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be used in future chapters of the DC multiverse. I seriously doubt that will happen, though. I don’t think we’ll see Johnson as Black Adam again.

Regardless, Johnson is proud of his film, saying, “After 15 years of relentless hard work to finally make ‘Black Adam,’ I am very proud of the film we have delivered to fans around the world. I will always look back on the fan reaction to ‘Black Adam’ with tremendous gratitude, humility and love.”

It’s a shame things didn’t work out for Henry Cavill’s Superman, I couldn’t wait to see his story continue, but it just wasn’t meant to be.