For all the hype that surrounded Black Adam prior to the film’s release, it’s now widely regarded as one of the weakest DCEU entries, but what could have been if Dwayne Johnson’s DC debut were a success?
That is what fans wanted to know as the question was posed in the DC Cinematic subreddit. As is pointed out, Black Adam was the last film to come out before the new plans for the universe were unveiled. The movie bombing at the box office followed by the announcement of a complete reboot does seem like some pretty convenient timing.
“Obviously, Black Adam was a complete box office bomb, though I figured it was also the DCEU’s last chance before Warner Bros made the final decision over whether to go for the full reboot or not. It seemed to be paving the way for a new direction in the DCEU.”
What could have been
Could Dwayne Johnson have saved the old regime at DC? Warner Bros. certainly looked it was putting all its eggs in that basket and, had the film been a success, would we have kept Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman? Would there have been some hope for the SnyderVerse? Would James Gunn have never become the head of the DCU? Did Johnson really have that much sway over the entire future of the DCEU?
All very important questions, and some fans think they have the answers.
“Six months before the movie was released Zaslav said that he wanted a ten years plan with Superman and Batman as the face of the brand. l remember reading somewhere that James and Peter started planning their vision at least a month before the movie was released. So no Black Adam’s success wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“The only scenario where Black Adam completely changes the trajectory of DC is if it had somehow become an Avatar-sized hit and made a ridiculous amount of money, proving the Rock’s value as the top actor of all time or something like that.”
“Let [sic] be real they took one look at that movie and they knew it was not going to be a success.”
A reboot was inevitable
While it’s interesting to think about the possibilities, when you look at the shift that was going on within Warner Bros. it’s obvious that there was already a backup plan in motion that would act as a course correction for the DCEU.
Okay, we’re getting a little dramatic, but the takeaway is that Dwayne Johnson would never have been able to save the DCEU. It was already doomed, even in a universe where Black Adam was a wild success, the wheels were in motion for a complete reboot. Maybe it’s a canon event that the DCEU should be rebooted.