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Dwayne Johnson addresses Henry Cavill's DC exit after Superman cameo in Black Adam: We 'put our best foot forward'

 Dwayne Johnson has opened up about Henry Cavill's brief return as Superman in Black Adam

Dwayne Johnson has finally come to terms that his failed plans to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman. 

Ever since James Gunn and Peter Safra took over DC Studios as co-CEOs and chairmen, the DC Universe has undergone a major overhaul, with Cavill's Superman comeback one of the casualties of the new regime.

Cavill reprised the role of Superman for a post-credit scene in Black Adam, where the Man of Steel warns Johnson's Black Adam to play nice or get his ass kicked. 

Speaking to Variety, Johnson has likened Cavill's Superman exit to a football team getting a new coach who decides to move forward with a new quarterback.

Johnson said: “All that I can do, and all that we could do when we were making Black Adam, was to put our best foot forward and surround ourselves with the best people and deliver the best movie we could.

“Our audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple shots, but that’s just the business of it.”

On Cavill's exit, Johnson added: “It’s almost like when you have a pro football team and your quarterback wins championships and your head coach wins championships and then a new owner comes in and says, ‘Not my coach, not my quarterback. I’m going to go with somebody new.'”

Black Adam itself is a casualty of the new management.

Shortly after word got out in mid-December that Black Adam wasn't part of the "first chapter" — which is later known of 'Gods and Monsters' phase — of Gunn/Safran's DC Studios, Johnson said in a statement shared on Twitter, "I wanted to give you a long-awaited Black Adam update regarding the character's future in the new DC Universe.

"James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling.

"However, DC and [Johnson's production company] Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilised in future DC multiverse chapters."

He continued: "You guys know me, and I have very thick skin — and you can always count on me to be direct with my words.

"These decisions made by James and DC leadership represent their vision of DCU through their creative lens.
"After 15 years of relentless hard work to finally make Black Adam, I'm very proud of the film we delivered for fans worldwide.

"I will always look back on the fan reaction to Black Adam with tremendous gratitude, humility and love. We did great."

He also promised to "always listen" to fans and joked he needed some of his own Tequila after an eventful few weeks.

Reacting to Johnson statement, Gunn teased plans to "collaborate" in the near future.

He tweeted: "Love the Rock, and I’m always excited to see what he and Seven Bucks do next. Can’t wait to collaborate soon.”

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam earned US$392 million (S$524 mil) worldwide on a reported US$260 million budget. The movie, which also starred Sex/Life's Sarah Shahi,Pierce Brosnan and Aldis Hodge, was no critical darling either; it scored an abysmal 39 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Johnson's next movie is Red One, the Jake Kasdan-helmed Amazon Prime Video actioner which also stars Chris Evans and Lucy Liu. Cavill has on his plate Matthew Vaughn's spy thriller Argylle and Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Black Adam is now on HBO Go. — BANG SHOWBIZ

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos

Watch exclusive 8 DAYS interviews on meWATCH and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube. 

 

Related topics

Hollywood Dwayne Johnson Henry Cavill James Gunn Peter Safran

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