In the build-up to Black Adam's release, star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson very much gave the impression he was spearheading the planned new era of the DCU. The actor even fielded questions about this after revealing that he was responsible for Henry Cavill's Superman return, but things have changed a lot since then.
For starters, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn and prolific producer Peter Safran have been tasked with taking charge of DC Studios for Warner Bros., so where does that leave Johnson?
A new report from The Wrap points out that the Black Adam star has long pushed for that franchise to be separate from the Shazam! movies. That's no secret as Johnson himself has revealed he strongly suggested Warner Bros. make a standalone movie featuring Teth-Adam, prompting them to scrap plans to feature the anti-hero in the 2019 blockbuster.
An insider tells them, "Safran needs to win over all the other filmmakers...and Dwayne Johnson's thinly veiled disdain for Shazam means he probably isn't loving the idea that his boss is now the guy that produces 'Shazam.' Safran is pretty diplomatic, so I think he will pull it off but it won't be easy."
Johnson once saying he made the "unpopular" decision to pull Black Adam from Shazam! now starts making more sense, as does his remarking that, "I said, 'I really think that you should make Shazam!, make that movie on its own in the tone that you want. And I think we should separate [Black Adam] as well.'"
Clearly, he had a vastly different take on what sort of tone Black Adam should have, and this may go some way in explaining why there was zero mention of his character being responsible for the Seven Deadly Sins escaping into the world (that was Black Adam's origin story in the 2019 movie).
Black Adam didn't even feature any significant nods to Shazam! beyond The Wizard's cameo, a bizarre decision when the characters are so inextricably linked in the comic books. Superman even shows up in the post-credits scene, setting the stage for a crossover that most fans have since said they would rather see feature Shazam.
Could that all be a result of Johnson's supposed "disdain" for the Shazam! franchise? Possibly, but it's also just as likely that he wants to make Black Adam its own thing. Still, the lack of chatter surrounding any sort of crossover does feel oddly telling.
The irony, of course, is that Shazam! has a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score compared to Black Adam's 40%. The latter looks set to make roughly the same as the 2019 title by the end of its run too, so pairing these two up sooner rather than later might just be what's best for Black Adam's DCU future.