Dwayne Johnson believes changes in leadership at DC is why Black Adam hasn’t gotten a sequel.
Per Deadline, Johnson was asked why Black Adam didn’t get a sequel when speaking with Kevin Hart on Peacock’s Hart to Heart. Johnson said, “I think that Black Adam got caught in a vortex of new leadership.”
He continued, “It was so many changes in leadership. Anytime you have a company, a publicly-traded company, and you have all those changes in leadership, you have people coming in who creatively, fiscally, are going to make decisions that you may not agree with, philosophically.”
Initially planned for 2021 but delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Adam was released theatrically in October 2022 and made approximately $393.3 million at the worldwide box office. The movie received mixed reviews from critics, though it currently holds an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
James Gunn and Peter Safran change the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe
Plans to continue the franchise were originally in the works, as the movie’s post-credit scene sets up a confrontation between Teth-Adam (Johnson) and Henry Cavill’s Superman. When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over leadership at DC Studios in November 2022, however, they announced they would be rebooting the entire DC Universe and that continuing Black Adam’s story wasn’t part of their immediate plans.
“I think Black Adam is one of those movies that got caught in that web of new leadership,” Johnson elaborated. “And that will always be one of the, one of the biggest mysteries I think, not only for me and us on our end, but also throughout our business.
“…We look at and respect the bottom line economically, but also when you think about opportunity and creating opportunity and creating things that are fresh for our audience – which is our number one boss – when that wasn’t looked at through that lens, it makes things a little more challenging for guys like you and I.”
Black Adam is streaming now on Max.
