Dwayne Johnson’s stint as Black Adam was cut short in late 2022 as DC Studios underwent shake-ups and leadership changes. With James Gunn and Peter Safran heralding a new era of films revolving around iconic DC Comics properties with their upcoming DCU reboot, the prospects of seeing the star’s return in the role appear murky.
Before this, though, while ambitions surrounding the anti-hero ran high, the Jumanji alum teased a probable grand-scale collision between his character and the Justice League.
Although such a showdown is highly unlikely given the current DCU slate, there is always a community of artists in every fandom whose mission is to breathe life into these unrealized dreams. One such fan artist made an artwork on DeviantArt capturing what a ferocious battle between the Mighty Adam and the beloved superhero ensemble would look like!
Black Adam Envisioned Fighting The Justice League In This Dashing Artwork
The build-up to the release of Dwayne Johnson‘s Black Adam consisted of the star claiming that the anti-hero’s inclusion in the franchise would change the DCEU hierarchy. For a long time, a looming face-off between the Johnson-portrayed character and Henry Cavill’s Superman was heavily teased, the seeds of which were sown in the 2022 endeavor’s mid-credits scene but are never likely to sprout.
In addition, he had his sights set on the entire DC Universe, imagining possible confrontations between the title character and legendary DC ensembles like the Justice League, Suicide Squad, and more.
And although it’s unclear what future plans the James Gunn and Peter Safran-envisioned DCU has for Black Adam, Johnson’s and other fans’ aspirations will stay unfulfilled for now. Luckily for us, though, the comic-book superhero community is vast, and artists within the fanbase are a powerhouse of creativity. On DeviantArt, one particular artist, by the username of zg01man, brought to life a hyped showdown between Black Adam and Justice League in a dashing artwork.
The title of the piece aptly says, ‘Justice League: Return of Black Adam’—probably an allusion to the 2010 direct-to-video animated short film, ‘Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam.’ Diverging from its premise, which sees the two notable superheroes take down the villain, the artwork envisions, instead, the beloved Justice League (specifically its DCEU iteration) on the precipice of locking horns with The Champion of Kahndaq.
Besides featuring the core DCEU Justice League line-up, the art sees the incorporation of Green Lantern, whose absence was felt throughout the flagship franchise. Thankfully, reports earlier indicated that viewers would finally witness the character’s return in the DCU reboot through Lanterns, a True Detective-style series (via Variety) in which two Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, will investigate a mystery on Earth.
For many, the artwork is a reminder of the could’ve-beens. Previously, an optimistic Dwayne Johnson, in his imagined DC films-verse, teased a colossal crossover between Black Adam and other DC entities and underscored the likelihood of them crossing paths.
Dwayne Johnson Had Ambitious Plans For DCEU’s Future
Before the change in leadership engulfed Black Adam in a vortex, there were plans in Dwayne Johnson’s mind that saw an elaborate future for the DCEU. Some of these initiatives were teased by the star in various interviews leading up to the release of the 2022 film. While a fight against Superman proved a headline-worthy talking point, the actor once emphasized the prospects of his in-franchise character crossing paths with other DC properties.
Talking to EstoEs COMBO, Johnson’s statement was evoked when he was asked about Black Adam potentially battling the Justice League and the Suicide Squid, as many fans had iterated a desire to see such storylines come to life. The interviewer asked if these plans fit the Baywatch alum’s dreams for DCEU’s future. At the time, the actor responded:
“…The fans will always guide you where you need to go, and that’s the new era I talk about in the DC Universe. In the DC Universe—they haven’t always listened to the fans in the past. Well, now things are different. In Black Adam, things are different … That’s why in Black Adam, Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash—they all co-exist in our world.”
Continuing, he affirmed:
“Ideally, in my mind—it’s a little crazy—they all cross paths. Because the fans want that. And there’s a good, creative way that we could figure that out. […] So, Black Adam colliding with all these characters in the DC Universe—we come to the table with that open mind.”
Concluding his ambitious envisioning of the future, Johnson said:
“If you said to me, ‘Suicide Squad?’ I say, ‘Yes.’ ‘Justice League?’ I say, ‘Yes.’ You name them, open up the book. Everything.”
Alas, with the overhaul of DC Studios (formerly DC Films) and a change in creative direction, whether a live-action Black Adam iteration ever gets even an inch closer to such extravagant possibilities remains unclear.
For now, the status of the character remains shrouded in mystery, with the only hint of any possible feasibility of its incorporation coming from an update Dwayne Johnson gave on Twitter, which confirmed the anti-hero won’t be in DCU’s first chapter of storytelling, but suggested that the character could be utilized in other “valuable ways” in the future.
Only time will tell if the character is ever likely to find a place in the James Gunn and Peter Safran-pioneered DCU.
