“How dare he give the fans what they want?”: The Rock Gets Massive Fan Support Amidst James Gunn Canceling Black Adam Sequel as WB Unhappy With Actor For Bringing in Henry Cavill

Canceling the Black Adam sequel is now being reported as the next order of business down at the DC Studios. With The Rock’s film creating enough ripples to bring a glimmer of hope even to those who had declared DC a lost cause, it surely was surprising when the film in totality couldn’t live up to the hype it initially instigated. But the failure to cross over into the $400 million category doesn’t define or diminish the contribution that was made by Black Adam to the DCU. Apparently, Warner Bros. doesn’t share the sentiment and is now considering pulling the plug on the sequel.

Also read: Black Adam Turns Out to be a Box Office DISASTER: Experts Predict Film Could Lose $50M-$100M

Black Adam Sequel Being Called Back Into the Vault at DCHQ

With The Rock making it a point to invite anyone and everyone who would listen to his Black Adam pitch to the theatres in hives, the promotional strategy that the actor used was a little out of the left field. Not many in the superhero industry are known to spoil their own movie to secure a box-office home run. But The Rock‘s insistence on repeating the same statement over and over again in interviews, tweets, promotional videos, fan Q&As, and even the premiere event, made the only big surprise a stale subject by the time the first week ended.

Also read: ‘Henry Cavill’s contract covered his Superman role in Black Adam’: Even The Rock Isn’t Sure of Man of Steel 2 Despite Fighting Tooth and Nail for Cavill Against WB Studios

At the time, the execs and producers hadn’t made a mountain out of the molehill, but the simmering irritation was felt after the numbers started to disappoint. Over the course of the following weeks, partisans began speaking up about their disappointment that the Henry Cavill cameo was ruined before the movie had even premiered. On top of everything else, The Rock’s overbearing optimism, and his strategizing and undermining of the struggle that Black Adam was facing at the box office after breaking even, left a sour taste on DCU’s palette.

The factors when added up don’t surprise much when DC Studios insiders hinted that a Black Adam 2 is an unlikely option for the franchise moving forward. Moreover, The Rock has been directing the spotlight toward a more Black Adam-centric universe by hyping up expansion — “Now we’ll build out the JSA” — and by teasing a future Black Adam vs Superman showdown. Like the SnyderVerse, the customized vision that The Rock was presenting did not appeal to the new management. In that, history repeats itself by strong-arming yet another imposing presence out of the DC canvas to make room for the others in equal capacity.

Also read: ‘The studio was not bringing Henry Cavill back’: WB Studios Fought With Dwayne Johnson, Tried Convincing Him Cavill’s Return Was a Bad Idea

Fans Side With The Rock Amid Black Adam 2 Cancellation

The Rock fought for an expansive vision by asking for a Black Adam solo instead of making the character a subplot in Shazam! He was also responsible for Henry Cavill’s return to the DCU, for the JSA to find a platform to play out in its formative entry, and for DC to find multiple viable spin-off projects from the screenplay that was presented. But with Henry Cavill’s future at DCU reportedly dead (again), the fans have taken to Twitter to call out the suits for sidelining The Rock’s vision — one that actually bothered listening to the fans by delivering them a non-headless Superman cameo.

They have zero right to be mad at this, everyone wanted Superman back and the Rock made sure we got him back

— Parker (@falsecurse) December 8, 2022

How dare you get the fans excited to see your film and the possibility of other things we cannot afford!

— completelyrandum (@c_randum) December 8, 2022

This doesn’t even make sense. He DID just join the universe… and Superman DID show up at the end. Are they already planning to retcon the whole thing?

— Jason (@amnesia0287) December 8, 2022

Omg what a shame, giving the people exactly what they want! The fans know best JG!

— James jr (@jclarojr) December 8, 2022

This isn't Dwayne Johnson's fault. Fans worldwide have been literally begging WB to bring Henry back for years. If they care about their own fans, they will bring him back.

— DC_Addict (@AddictDc) December 8, 2022

The Henry Cavill cameo has been a dream come true for the fans indeed. But as has been made public, it was Warner Bros. Pictures duo Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy who finally gave the nod for the Superman cameo. The Rock’s reach didn’t extend, unfortunately, to David Zaslav or James Gunn and both being the ultimate authority on all things DCU, it’s unlikely that one cameo, or The Rock’s persuasive strategies, could amount to a rehashing of the DC Universe Bible to include a project that doesn’t fit in with James Gunn’s vision.

Black Adam is currently available for buying and renting on Apple TV, YouTube, and Prime Video.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter