Dwayne Johnson says Black Adam won't be part of DC's '1st chapter of storytelling'
Black Adam will not be a part of the future of the new DC Universe.
On Tuesday, "Black Adam" star Dwayne Johnson took to Twitter addressing his "passionate friends," and said that after connecting with filmmaker James Gunn, "Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling" in the new DC Universe.
"James and I have known each other for years and have always rooted for each other to succeed," Johnson said. "It's no different now, and I will always root for DC (and Marvel) to win and WIN BIG."
"You guys know me, and I have very thick skin -- and you can always count on me to be direct with my words," he added. "These decisions made by James and DC leadership represent their vision of DCU through their creative lens."
In his message, Johnson said it took 15 years to make "Black Adam." But despite his passion for the project and endless promotion in a multi-country tour, the film didn't do well.
Still, Johnson said he takes pride in the work that was put into "Black Adam" and thanked the fans who supported the film.
"I'm very proud of the film we delivered for fans worldwide," he said. "I will always look back on the fan reaction to Black Adam with tremendous gratitude, humility and love. We did great."
"To my very passionate and vocal Black Adam/Super Hero genre fans -- I love you, THANK YOU, and I will ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOU and do my best to deliver and entertain you," Johnson added.
Johnson said that DC and his television company Seven Bucks Productions -- which he co-founded -- will "continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters." He ended his message by wishing his fans happy holidays.
Following his tweet, Gunn shared Johnson's message.
"Love @TheRock & I'm always excited to see what he and Seven Bucks do next," Gunn wrote. "Can't wait to collaborate soon."
Johnson's tweet comes days after actor Henry Cavill announced that he would not return as Superman, whom he played in 2013's "Man of Steel" and teased his return at the end of "Black Adam" in the film's after-credits.
Cavill broke the "sad news" to fans in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday.
Gunn -- who, along with producer Peter Safran, has been tasked with getting Warner Bros. Discovery's DC Comics-based cinematic universe back on track -- answered questions from fans and said he's been writing a Superman movie "for a while," and it will in "no way" be an origin story.
"In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill," said Gunn, who added that the upcoming slate of films could likely involve Ben Affleck in some way -- but behind the camera, not in front of it as Batman.
Since the news of the changes, fans have been vocal about it online, with Gunn receiving the majority of the backlash from director Zack Snyder's fanbase as executives at Warner Bros. Discovery chart a new course for the DC heroes away from those initially cast by the director of "Man of Steel," "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" and the re-cut "Zack Snyder's Justice League."
Gunn responded to the backlash on Monday afternoon and addressed the "disrespectful outcry."
"We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, & we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult & not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us," Gunn said.
He added, "No one loves to be harassed or called names -- but, to be frank, we've been through significantly worse. Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions."
