Actually, the cameo wasn’t planned and “Black Adam‘ should have ended a few seconds earlier with the statement by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). The US government official tells Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson) that if necessary, aliens are available to stop him. Of course, the vague reference would have been taken by anyone as an allusion to Superman, but would have left many other options open.
The reason for this: The previous DC leadership around President Walter Hamada, who stepped down a few days ago, did not want to join him Henry Cavill continue as Superman. The plan was to go in a new direction with the famous comic book hero instead. So the original ending gave them the option to have Black Adam meet a possible Superman recast or even a completely different character.
Dwayne Johnson wanted Henry Cavill to play Superman…
However, Dwayne Johnson insisted on bringing Henry Cavill on board. Personal reasons should also play a role: Johnson’s films are produced by his ex-wife Dany Garcia. The former bodybuilder not only runs the joint production company Seven Bucks Productions, but also has a management office – and with TGC Management she represents not only Johnson, but also Cavill.
So Johnson’s fight for Cavill was also the fight for the Superman comeback of a client of his close business partner and ex-wife. And Johnson fought this battle not just for months, but years, as he now reveals. Time and again he pressured the DC and Warner leadership to let Cavill appear – and time and time again he got denials.
Give in at the last minute
But then, just in time, a happy coincidence came: after the company was restructured, a new management team joined Warner. And new boss David Zaslav was arguably so eager to make Dwayne Johnson happy that he granted his wish: Dwayne Johnson has now confirmed that only Warner’s new management has approved him anyway – very quickly and easily.
It would have been almost too late at that point, as producer Hiram Garcia told the web portal revealed: “We got permission to do a movie like this and finish the effects as late as possible.” The companies responsible for the special effects were not at all sure it was even possible to complete the scene. Henry Cavill’s performance was not filmed until September, a few weeks before the theatrical release. That a special effects performance is made so late is absolutely exceptional, especially for a blockbuster of this magnitude.
Garcia proudly reveals how he, his sister Dany and Dwayne Johnson would have fought together “for Henry”. Especially since he’s sure that’s exactly what the fans want: according to Garcia, they want to continue to see Henry Cavill as Superman. The mini comeback could even have a big impact – after all, “Man Of Steel 2” was supposed to come with Henry Cavill.
According to Garcia, fans want to see Superman next to Black Adam even more than in a solo film – as an adversary, but also as a comrade-in-arms. They have big plans for this, even want to make several movies with Superman and Black Adam. And even that is just the beginning…
The idea is that in the future Black Adam will meet all DC heroes: “Shazam, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman”, cites the producer and close friend of Dwayne Johnson as examples. But “Black Adam” must first be a success. The DC superhero blockbuster has been hitting theaters worldwide since this weekend.