Before entering the DC franchise as Black Adam, Dwayne Johnson had many successful action films under his belt. The former WWE champion-turned-actor featured in films like San Andreas and Rampage apart from being a pivotal presence in The Fast and the Furious franchise. However, apart from this popular film series, The Rock’s other films have surprisingly not expanded into sequels.
Johnson’s producing partner Hiram Garcia attempted to explain the reasons behind this back in 2022. It appeared from Garcia’s revelations that The Scorpion King star’s commitment to DC and his character Black Adam could have been the deciding factor behind a film like Rampage not getting the greenlight for a sequel. As fate would have it, Johnson’s long-term desires for DC went up in smoke.
Was Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage Sequel Thwarted By Black Adam?
In 2018, Dwayne Johnson starred in Rampage, a sci-fi monster film loosely based on the video game of the same name. The story follows a primatologist who joins forces with a raging mutant gorilla to stop two other mutated animals from destroying Chicago. The action star collaborated with director Brad Peyton for the 3rd time after San Andreas and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
The film made $428 million worldwide and received praise for Johnson’s performance despite getting mixed reviews from critics for the narrative. Surprisingly, the story which was set up well for a sequel to be developed, has not materialized till date. Hiram Garcia, The Rock’s producing partner, attempted to explain the reasons behind this stalled decision.
In an interview with Collider in 2022, Garcia spoke of the WWE star’s contract with DC at the time and his entry into the franchise as Black Adam which was significant in the decisions they took collectively regarding other projects. The possibility of the character being expanded further in the DCEU meant that sequels of his other films had to go into the back burner.
“We have very big plans, obviously, for the DC Universe, if the fans perceive the way we want. We have a lot of stories planned for that. But it is a challenge of balancing, ‘Okay, what are the sequels we’re going to do,’ because we’ve been very fortunate that the majority of the projects we’ve done, there’s been a request for sequel, and his availability has always been the thing that made it a challenge.”
Cut to 2024, Johnson’s DC career after the arrival of James Gunn is now looking bleak. The failure of Black Adam meant that character’s future in the franchise and in DCU films is all but over. It now remains to be seen if The Rock goes back to reviving his other films into sequels.
Why This Dwayne Johnson Film Will Never Get A Sequel
In 2008, Brendan Fraser played the lead in Journey to the Center of the Earth, a modern reinterpretation of the Jules Verne classic novel that debuted in theaters in 2008. The sequel with Dwayne Johnson titled Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, was also loosely based on Verne’s narrative and referenced the book as part of the plot in the film.
While the first film received generally positive responses, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island became a surprise blockbuster, making a global collection of $339 million at the box office.With The Rock’s reputation as a lucky charm for franchises, expectedly there were talks of making another sequel that would complete the Journey trilogy.
Unfortunately, the Jumanji 2 star gave fans the bad news that the possibility of making another film in the adventure series was very bleak. Replying to a young fan who wished to know if there was going to be another movie made, Johnson stated via his X handle,
“I have no plans to make another Journey movie. My goal to make Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon became a real challenge to crack creatively. Thanks for being such a cool fan”.
If the film had materialized, Dwayne Johnson was expected to have worked once again with director Brad Peyton who made Journey 2 and also developed a good working relationship with the action star in their film San Andreas.
Rampage can be rented on Apple TV.
