Dwayne Johnson Is DC’s Latest Casualty As James Gunn Informs The Rock ‘Black Adam 2’ Is Cancelled

What do Dwayne Johnson, Patty Jenkins, and Henry Cavill have in common? They’ve all been booted out of the DC Universe by new bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran. Johnson, who made his superhero debut as the eponymous character in the 2022 movie Black Adam, has announced his exit from the studio after being told that the movie’s anticipated sequel is not part of Gunn’s vision for the “first chapter” of the “new DC Universe”.

Johnson shared the news through a heartfelt message to his “passionate friends” on social media. “I wanted to give a long-awaited Black Adam update regarding the character’s future in the new DC Universe,” he wrote.

“James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling. However, DC and and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters,” Johnson wrote, teasing that his anti-hero character may appear in future movies.

The actor continued to express his appreciation for Gunn and DC, saying that he is rooting for both – along with Marvel, who he vied to have a crossover with during promotion for Black Adam. At the time, Johnson told Variety that he is “optimistic” for a Marvel-DC crossover in the future, as long as the “right people having the right conversations” are at the helm.

He closed out his exit statement by thanking his fans. “After 15 years of relentless hard work to finally make Black Adam, I’m very proud of the film we delivered for fans worldwide. I will always look back on the fan reactions to Black Adam with tremendous gratitude, humility, and love,” Johnson expressed.

“To my very passionate and vocal Black Adam/Super Hero genre fans – I love you, thank you, and I will always listen to you,” he concluded. Gunn responded to Johnson on Twitter, writing, “Love @TheRock & I’m always excited to see what he & Seven Bucks do next. Can’t wait to collaborate soon.” Johnson’s exit follows the cancellation of Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 film and Cavil’s reprisal of Superman, teased during the end credits of Black Adam.

Black Adam follows the hero arc of a super-powered being who is released from imprisonment after 5,000 years. The synopsis for the movie reads, “Now released, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone.” Unfortunately, the action movie had poor performance at the box office, where it earned $389,472,068 worldwide against its production’s mega-budget, rumored to be between $195-230 million, not including marketing costs.

As expected, reception for Gunn’s decision has been mixed, with many DC fans still fuming over Cavill’s short-lived stint in the Superman suit. One Twitter user told Gunn, “You killed all the hype that was coming from the recent announcements, Cavill back, etc. You are creating a world war into DC, here we are again.”

Others are wondering when Gunn and Safran will announce their future plans given the recent influx of bad news – which isn’t a good look for anybody in leadership positions at DC, especially following The New York Post’s recent report that Gunn was a last-ditch effort join the team after Joker director Todd Phillips turned down the position.

Ever heard of “give a little, take a little,” Gunn? Seems to just be a lot of “taking” going on.