Compared to the likes of Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash, Black Adam was a "hit." In the grand scheme of things, though, the movie Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said would change the hierarchy of power in the DCEU was a critical and commercial bomb.
Desperate to control the narrative, Johnson later attempted to spin his effort to take charge of the DC franchise as a success. That included leaking word of a Hawkman movie which, under DC Studios' watch, appears to have as much chance of happening as Black Adam 2.
Of course, with Isabela Merced set to play Hawkgirl in Superman: Legacy, there's been some speculation online that actor Aldis Hodge could get a second chance in the DCU.
Talking to Screen Rant, the actor made it clear he's in the dark about his superhero future. "I can't really speak to that. [Chuckles] You're gonna have to talk to James about it," Hodge told the site. "But yeah, I don't know really what's in store for Hawkman. I will say that I would like to finish out the plans that we had for Hawkman, and sort of revisit them, because there's such a body of depth when it comes to his whole storyline, and all that kind of stuff."
"So, if that's something they're interested in, my door's always open for that. But, I know they want to build out a very different world," he continued. "I can't speak to whether I'm going to be part of that world, as that's above my paygrade, but if they want to pick up the phone, I'm always here."
Hodge is 37 and Merced is 22, so pairing them up as Hawkman and Hawgirl in the DCU wouldn't make a huge amount of sense (particularly if James Gunn plans to explore their long-running romantic relationship).
We'd guess Black Adam was a one-and-done for Hodge, a shame considering how well-liked his take on the hero was but a necessity when the DCEU is being rebooted from the ground up. Well, for the most part, anyway.
"James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling," The Rock said of his DCEU departure early last year. "However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters. These decisions made by James and DC leadership represent their vision of DCU through their creative lens."
As of now, there's zero indication that Black Adam will factor into any future stories. As for The Rock, he's busy exerting his control over WWE in the same way he once did with the DCEU; so far, that's not gone down well.