Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s attempt at being the harbinger of all things good and pure ended up dying a quick and brutal death. The Black Adam actor’s ambitious approach to fixing the broken DC Universe by glorifying the magnitude of his role and his film was not all that when it came to performing at the box office. With most fans left exhilarated at the re-entry of Henry Cavill, the truth underlying the October superhero launch almost escaped notice, but not for long. Black Adam‘s disappointing failure to swing a home run also becomes the punching bag for the DCU fandom’s latest outrage — Henry Cavill’s departure. Again.
The Rock’s Black Adam Fails to Reinstate Henry Cavill in DCU
Once considered the elixir, Black Adam has now become a definitive poison that needs to be weeded out before further plans get sidetracked by its influence within the DCU. The upsetting crash-and-burn of Dwayne Johnson‘s solo venture can be attributed to many factors, but none bear such overwhelming reason as the aggressive tunnel-vision marketing strategies of The Rock who went all in on Henry Cavill‘s cameo.
After promising a hierarchy change and a better future for the lost and rudderless DC fandom, Black Adam came between two monumental shifts within the franchise — the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and the formation of DC Studios. Both events were of magnitudes much larger than anything that The Rock had control over, and the actor took advantage of the shifting tectonics within the internal structure of the company to rope in Henry Cavill for his film.
Keeping the focus of the majority of his film on Black Adam’s history and rise as an anti-hero, the mid-credits was purposefully and strategically used to establish Superman within the DCU and set him up for a future trilogy that would end in a Black Adam v Superman showdown, as teased by The Rock after the film’s premiere. But the actor’s focused vision on a single character was not agreeable to Warner Bros. Discover and David Zaslav’s 10-year vision.
Moreover, The Rock’s promotional technique of hogging the spotlight away from his DCU film’s core synopsis resulted in an overly hyped fandom whose Cavill-induced high ended in a crash that delivered more disappointment than was warranted at first sight. The consequential box office flop added to the already weighted problems of the new DCU management that has been critical with projects that fail to give the execs a reason to keep them afloat.
Fans Blame The Rock For Henry Cavill Being Sidelined By DC
Twitter has been in an anger-driven haze ever since James Gunn’s announcement of shifting away from the shackles of its past and consequently, Henry Cavill as Superman. The short-lived excitement at the actor’s return quickly washed away after the devoted fandom began looking for someone to blame. The closest subject who qualified as the antagonist of the Cavill-DC love story was The Rock, whose aggressive strategies, as per critics, did not end well for all parties involved.
In the end, it feels like Dwayne Johnson brought Henry Cavill back as a marketing stunt for Black Adam honestly. Seems like Rock used him as a tool to try to create hype for his movie… pic.twitter.com/zdnXZBTLjX
— Pat Guy (@ThisPatGuy) December 15, 2022
Imagine being The Rock right now
Cast as Black Adam in 2008.
Movie finally comes out in 2022
You beg Henry Cavill to cameo as Superman.
Then, your movie flops & James Gunn gets rid of Cavill & shelves Black Adam 2 pic.twitter.com/vDbhvdNFVO
— Jimmy Folino #WhoDey 🐅- BLM, StopAsianHate 🏳️🌈 (@MrNiceGuy513) December 15, 2022
Blame The Rock for how he hyped up Henry Cavill back as Superman. He made it seem like the dude was back for good when he NEVER was.
Honestly, I hope James Gunn gets rid of The Rocks version of Black Adam.
— Ashley 💕 (@velvetcrowes_) December 15, 2022
I feel bad for Henry Cavill. Sadly he got caught between The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) and a hard place (James Gunn & Peter Safran) with the DC politics.
Now he’s not playing both Geralt and Superman because he hitched his wagon with The Rock.
Oof. pic.twitter.com/OctvcJQGdT
— Terrence “TrulyMad” Cua 🔜🪦 (@TheTrulyMad) December 15, 2022
Me to @TheRock after reading the reports that the #DCEU is being rebooted and that Henry Cavill might not be returning as Superman after all smh pic.twitter.com/x48f84LXjz
— Cristian Molina (@DirectedByCJ) December 8, 2022
Following the news of Cavill’s exit, there are fans who are trying to stay optimistic about his return at some point in the future since James Gunn also announced that the pair might have an opportunity to work together. Beyond that indefinite promise, some fans have also thanked The Rock for bringing back Henry Cavill as Superman one last time, and no matter how hurtful, Cavill’s presence did deliver a sense of closure after the fiasco of 2017.
Black Adam will debut on HBO Max on December 16, 2022.
Source: Twitter
