BLACK ADAM's Dwayne Johnson Blamed For SHAZAM! 2 Flopping; Actor "Kneecapped" Sequel's Justice Society Cameos

BLACK ADAM's Dwayne Johnson Blamed For SHAZAM! 2 Flopping; Actor "Kneecapped" Sequel's Justice Society Cameos

A damning new report blames Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for Shazam! Fury of the Gods' box office failings, revealing that the Black Adam star was to blame for the Justice Society being cut from the sequel.

By JoshWilding - Mar 21, 2023 10:03 AM EST
Filed Under: Black Adam
Source: The Wrap

It's no secret that Dwayne Johnson made a bid to take control of the DCEU, with his plan being to build that shared world around the Black Adam franchise.

When the movie was released to negative reviews and poor box office numbers, the actor attempted to spin the narrative, leaking financial information to Deadline and promising fans a Hawkman movie among other spin-offs. DC Studios had other ideas, though, and parted ways with Johnson. 

We've previously heard that the former pro wrestler allegedly has "disdain" for the Shazam! franchise, hence why he was laying the groundwork for his anti-hero to battle Superman instead. 

Recently, Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg revealed that he planned to include Justice Society characters in the sequel's mid-credits scene, only to learn three days before cameras rolled that he was no longer allowed to do so. Who put the brakes on that? According to The Wrap, it was Johnson. 

In a piece that accuses Johnson of having "kneecapped" both the Black Adam and Shazam! franchises with his actions, it's revealed that the actor vetoed plans for Hawkman and other members of the Justice Society team to appear in the movie. 

"Dwayne tries to sell himself as bigger than the movie," one insider tells the trade. "He’s one of the few people who always thinks he’s the most important person in any situation or room. Instead of making a movie, he wants to extend his brand and make a brand centered on himself."

Another adds, "By alienating the established property that his character was born out of, and refusing to integrate with other established characters, [Johnson] systematically crippled two franchises, and has harmed DC in the process."

We don't know why Johnson was so against a Shazam crossover, but have to assume he didn't want to share the spotlight or felt the two characters wouldn't mix well...which contradicts decades of comic book history. Both Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods had issues beyond the former's lead, but it seems his actions have indeed hurt both franchises. 

Remember, he went around DC Films brass to get Superman in Black Adam, so it's no wonder James Gunn and Peter Safran weren't keen to bring him into the DCU fold. And, as the trade points out, many in Hollywood are now questioning whether Johnson is still the box office draw he once was, suggesting he's hurt himself in all this as well. 

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Conquistador
Conquistador - 3/21/2023, 10:22 AM
Sure, that's why the movie failed.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 3/21/2023, 11:04 AM
@UniqNo - I wouldn't say it's why the movie didn't fail though. Think about it. What if the original plan was for Black Adam to have a solo film and if it did well the excitement fans would have with Shazam 2 featuring Black Adam and The Justice Society in cameos? It would have help build towards the new DCU. But Dwayne wanted Black Adam to be the Robert Downey Jr of that cinematic world. He tried the same in the Fast franchise too.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 3/21/2023, 11:17 AM
@SonOfAGif - Well Rock was trying to inject some life into the wider DCE and (wrongly) thought his character and movie would be the way tospearhead that as his name gets (or use to) get reciepts. He announced himself as Black Adam way before Levi was ever cast as Shazam and i guess in a way felt he did need to get his solo movie out the way 1st. I think Shazam Vs Black Adam would have been a better tag at the end than Superman, even though it was nice to see Cavill again (albiet his final appearance).

But the movie generally failed because there was to many shuffles to release dates, all the issues with DC in general and the general audience getting bored of these movies, as evidenced by Ant-Man 3, Thor Love and Thunder, Wakanda Forever (to an extent). Shazam also didn't have much of a fan base to begin with outside of the comic fans. It did decent on the 1st outing but nothing outlandish.

They're talking about cameos and that hardly sells tickets. Dont forget they also purposely revealed wonder woman in the TV spot to drum up some more interest and that still failed.

I think the movie was just fine for what it was though, but nothing amazing.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 3/21/2023, 11:18 AM
@SonOfAGif - Also it probably would have done better if it still came out around the time of Avatar 2 as a good alternative and would have had longer legs. But John wick is about to come and take over this weekend. Even for an R rated flick looking at 60 to 70 million which is predicted is amazing, and they're on number 4!
Origame
Origame - 3/21/2023, 11:42 AM
@UniqNo - it would've beat avatar at the box office if Hawk man showed up in the credits 🙄
Conquistador
Conquistador - 3/21/2023, 11:49 AM
@Origame - Haha. Well it certainly wouldn't have got to number one, but it may have lasted longer. Plus more families would have been off around that time of the year, as in a way it is targetted more towards that audience.
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 3/21/2023, 2:00 PM
@Origame - if superman can't save black adam, doubt a bunch of forgettable side kicks from a flop movie is going to save Shazam 2 lol

I get the sarcasm and totally agree, but Avatar 2 brought in so many people to the theaters that if it was all sold out....Shazam 2 would've profited a lil bit more from being an alternative and counter programming to Avatar 2.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 3/21/2023, 2:10 PM
@mastakilla39 - exactly. Plus it would have been the holidays with more people being off work etc and it being a family oriented film it should have had a decent response. I mean how else do you think Aquaman made a billion. That plus spiderman no way home also had Christmas releases and that came out when covid was still an issue in some countries. Eh well. It probably still wouldn't have saved DC at that stage.
mountainman
mountainman - 3/21/2023, 10:23 AM
The Justice Society was one of the few bright spots of Black Adam. I certainly wouldn’t mind that team getting built up over time, but it won’t because this poorly managed franchise can’t seem to build anything up well.
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 3/21/2023, 10:25 AM
I don't doubt Dwayne would do something like that.

But let's be real here, a Justice Society cameo would NOT have saved Shazam 2. Anyone trying to spin this narrative might as well apply to the local circus.
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 3/21/2023, 10:26 AM
@OrgasmicPotatoe - Does anyone even remember the JSA? the only cool character was killed in Black Adam, and general audiences already considered a Dr Strange rip-off.
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 3/21/2023, 10:27 AM
@OrgasmicPotatoe -


It's damage control. Gunn isn't making bold moves. He is super outspoken on certain things but quiet as a church mouse when films flop and headlines like these come out😑



Shazam 2 even more so complicated things for Gunns DC if you saw that after credit scene.😑



He has no idea what he is doing🤡
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 3/21/2023, 10:27 AM
@TheHumanSpider2 - I can't say I do, I haven't watched Black Adam at all.
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 3/21/2023, 10:29 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - I haven't seen it, what happens ? I don't mind spoilers for this.
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 3/21/2023, 10:30 AM
@OrgasmicPotatoe - Dont waste your time.
Really, the movie doesnt deserve your time, if you ever saw any mediocre comic book movie, you already saw it.
TheWinkler
TheWinkler - 3/21/2023, 10:31 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - That after credit's scene was done long before Gunn and Safran starting manning the ship. At that point, Gunn was just a guy who made Squad and Peacemaker.
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 3/21/2023, 10:31 AM
@OrgasmicPotatoe -


Someone makes an appearance and it's from a recent show and he or she is married to Gunn😐....
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 3/21/2023, 10:32 AM
@TheWinkler -


Let's be real here. Gunn could've made the call to cut it. Who are we kidding?
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 3/21/2023, 10:39 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - Yeah, if Gunn is recasting everyone but keeping his people, I can't see myself being too interested in this DCU.

But we already know he plans on doing that, so that post credits cameo can't really mess things up more than they already are.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 3/21/2023, 10:39 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - As if this is all on Gunn already...he and Safran could hardly have talked shit about the movies that wrapped production and had release dates already set when they took over. They needed to still promote it. Even if there plan is to totally scrap those character iterations they can't say anything before hand as it will affect their box office potential. It could have been alot worse. They have to talk them up, as their still doing with Flash and Aquaman, when the reality is probably by early 2024 they announce it’s a 100% fresh reboot.

Give them time instead of being so quick to say he's got no clue what he's doing. He could very well [frick] things up, but wait for something that is totally their doing before judging I’d say. Superman Legacy will truly be the first thing we can realistically debate since they took over. and that's still got well over 2 years to come around.
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 3/21/2023, 10:43 AM
@OrgasmicPotatoe -


It's just more confirmation 🥲
mountainman
mountainman - 3/21/2023, 11:24 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - How are any of these previously-made movies Gunn’s responsibility? He doesn’t have the power to have scrapped them. That would have had to have come from higher up the ladder. He didn’t have any hand in making them. That happened before his tenure. We really can’t evaluate whether Gunn’s DCU will be a success or failure until his Superman movie comes out.
Polaris
Polaris - 3/21/2023, 11:39 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - But the only reason she's there is because Sandberg was told he couldn't use the JSA characters...

I think is still very early to start blaming Gunn for things.
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 3/21/2023, 11:43 AM
@TheHumanSpider2 - The JSA wasn't even the JSA, it was a fake-ass "Justice Society" that just suddenly popped out of nowhere, and viewers were expected to embrace them because they looked cool. There was no character-building, no character motivations, it was just, 'here we are! we are well-funded and will save the day because that's what we do!'. You're right about Dr. Fate. GREAT actor, let's put him in this costume and then kill him off. What in the actual [frick]?
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 3/21/2023, 11:44 AM
@mountainman - THIS.
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 3/21/2023, 1:50 PM
@GeneralZod -

The Rock: "I want to beat the entire Justice League"
Warner: "you mean Black Adam"
The Rock: "whatever"
Warner: "well, Dawyne, we cant have the entire Justice League to play the antagonist in this movie, we already went over-budget"
The Rock: "well, the closest thing to the Justice League"
Warner:
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 3/21/2023, 10:25 AM
The film flopped cause it was bad, super hero fatigue and people don't trust DC anymore. Batman and Batman related characters are the only brand you can trust.



All these supporting characters getting films are over. Bring in the big guns💪
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 3/21/2023, 10:37 AM
@AmazingFILMporg - I think people are fed up with both brands, which dug themselves into the holes each is in (DC of course in a much deeper one for a lot longer). Bring back good writing and good drama.
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 3/21/2023, 10:40 AM
@GeneralZod -


I agree. MCU problem is too much product. The good stuff gets lost amid all the ok to bad stuff.



DC problem is lack of leadership, bad films for too long and just plain drama🤕
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 3/21/2023, 11:37 AM
@AmazingFILMporg -

I miss this in CBMs:



I am tired of this in CBMs:

AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 3/21/2023, 11:57 AM
@GeneralZod -


I think having to save earth every film diminished the stakes. I love the first antman because because it's Scott trying to save his world as in his family🥲
jst5
jst5 - 3/21/2023, 2:06 PM
@GeneralZod - That and the people over DC have no idea how to put the DC feel with their characters on film.We'll see if this new crew does but I doubt it...probably will yet again get a Marvel vibe with DC characters.

Going with a new Batman(two on screen is a BAD move...and you'll see why)that will have a kid for a new brand is stupid...again you'll see why.
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