It's become clear in recent weeks that something is going on with Henry Cavill's Superman in the DCEU. All signs point to Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson having pulled some strings at Warner Bros. to bring the actor back as the Man of Steel, something he knows will help this movie and the wider franchise he's now part of.
Johnson has frequently namedropped Superman while answering questions on the press tour for this DC movie. However, Cinema Blend asked him outright if his plan is to build to a movie pitting Black Adam against the Man of Steel.
"Absolutely," the actor confirmed. "That is the whole point of this man. Thank you for asking that. And I have been saying for some time, there's a new era in the DC Universe that's about to begin. And what I meant by that was introducing a brand new character. It's not a sequel, not an existing IP. It was...you know, Black Adam! Two years ago the world had no idea who he was."
"We did, but not, you know, the rest of the mass out there. Introducing the JSA, introducing that new era of the DC universe. But also what I really meant by, ‘This is a new era in the DC Universe,’ is listening to the fans. Listening to the fans," Johnson continued. "And doing our best to give the fans what they want."
"And maybe, sometime down the road — and I went through this in pro wrestling — is you can't always give them what you want. But you'll always know that we're listening. And in this case, with what you and I are talking about, I have been listening and I've been wanting to address fans for years. Because I've been waiting for someone to step up and address the fans and say, 'Hey, we hear you.'"
"So finally, after many months turned into many years, we ended up with what we ended up at," he teased. "And the whole goal and intention now is to this new era, new time. Now let's build out."
Johnson is clearly choosing his words carefully here, but we're confident Superman is definitely showing up in Black Adam. The former pro wrestler being the one to bring Cavill back into the fold makes sense when they share an agent, and he's clearly looking to give fans what they want from the DCEU.
This movie wouldn't have necessarily suffered without the Man of Tomorrow, but Johnson is savvy enough to know fans would have been disappointed. There's been talk of a big screen battle between these characters since before Black Adam even got the green light, and all signs point to it now becoming a reality.
Black Adam is set to be released in theaters on October 21.