Black Adam is turning out to be DCEU’s Black Cat and it seems the film has done more harm than good. The lukewarm Box-Office response to the film pushed to the final decline of the DCEU resulting in Gunn and Safran taking leadership roles at the franchise. The movie does not stop there, Dwayne Johnson refused to film Lobo in favor of joining Black Adam and soon becoming a part of the Shazam family.
Black Adam‘s creative choices ensured that Henry Cavill could never return as Superman in Shazam! films. Henry Cavill’s character has been present in the DCEU in some form or the other, Superman made an appearance on Shazam even though his face has not shown but the cameo teased a possible return of the actor in the future Shazam! projects.
Henry Cavill was all set to make an appearance in Shazam!
Shazam! of 2019 brought the Shazam Family to the big screen, inspiring representation in various media and paving the way for its upcoming DC Universe sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods will continue the same.
Shazam! portrayed several underrepresented groups in healthy and non-toxic ways, from the family being a loving foster family a relationship not frequently highlighted in media concerning the foster system to Freddie having a crutch but not being his sole or even most apparent character characteristic.
Not going to comment on casting rumors for several reasons. One being you can’t be sure about anything until it’s happened. Halfway through shooting Shazam the plan was still for Cavill to be in it. Scoopers could have scooped that and been right at the time but wrong in the end.
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) February 5, 2021
At the fag end of the film Henry Cavill’s character made a headless cameo which did not correlate with the story. Many fans speculated that the cameo was not inserted as a plot device instead it was to reflect is Cavill’s possible entry as Superman in Shazam!. The Tweet from Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of God director is more than evidence that Cavill was supposed to make a Cameo but his troubled relations with WB led to a stunt double replacing him.
Black Adam rendered Shazam! useless for Henry Cavill’s return
Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson has been vying for the film to establish him as the strongest villain in the DC universe. The film was planned to have sequels and lead to the entry of Black Adam into Shazam! world. These ambitions lead to Johnson deviating from Shazam! continuity, the creative decisions taken by the team of Black Adam have severely affected the future of the franchise.
A moment at the conclusion also did its part to sow the seeds. The Shazam Family is sitting on thrones made of the Rock of Eternity there, but one of the seats is vacant. Even though there are only six of them, there is still a seventh throne.
When Black Adam did ultimately come up in the DC Universe, links to the Shazam mythos were tragically cut short, despite the fact that fans understood this was a clue that he would emerge in a follow-up. Due to these reasons Shazam! is no longer what it could have been pre-Black Adams and all hope is lost for Henry Cavill to return as Superman in Shazam!. The franchise is not strong enough to hold Superman and run with it, hopefully the sequel attempts to make a mark in the Universe.
Source: Twitter
