For weeks on end following the release of HBO Max’s Justice League, Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. were the Ross and Rachel of the movie business. Countless reports made the rounds online that said the filmmaker was poised to be invited back into the fold to continue the SnyderVerse, while just as many circulated claiming the exact opposite.
Based on the Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice director’s slew of recent comments aimed in the direction of his former employers, it looks as though Snyder and the studio are definitely on a break. Somehow, though, Dwayne Johnson’s name eventually made its way into the conversation, with much chatter that the Black Adam star might step in to save the mythology.
From rumors that he was planning to ignore the WB execs and connect his DCEU debut to the SnyderVerse by making Black Adam the way he wanted to, through uncorroborated tales that he’d been banned from speaking about it via a gag order, it certainly got people talking. However, in a recent interview, Snyder admitted that it’s all news to him. That being said, he’s certainly not opposed to the idea.
“I had not heard that. Yeah no, I mean, I think he could fit in the world, so it’s interesting. In the Flash movie, you’re gonna see my Batman, and… I don’t know.”
That should realistically put a pin in the speculation, at least for now, when you’d imagine that a star of Johnson’s caliber would’ve contacted Snyder before making any decisions about whether or not to forge ahead and tie a blockbuster that’ll be costing Warner Bros. hundreds of millions of dollars to a three-film arc that the boardroom have made it perfectly clear they’re not interested in following up on. Still, there remain several major characters he cast for the SnyderVerse who are very much in play, and should be for a while yet.