You’d have to be living under a rock (no pun intended) to not realize that Dwayne Johnson is desperate to get his title character from “Black Adam” to come to blows with Superman. He’s talked about it at various events, asking fans if they want to see Superman fight Black Adam. Johnson has teased that Black Adam is the only character who could possibly defeat Superman in a fight. It’s all very silly to watch, but it does show that Johnson has a bit of a mild obsession with the idea of Superman and Black Adam appearing together in a film.
So, it’s no surprise that Dwayne Johnson confirms as much in a new interview with CinemaBlend. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of his recent discussion is that he says the inevitable fight between Black Adam and Superman is “the whole point of this.” Apparently, he doesn’t have aspirations of being another actor in the DCEU and potentially face off with Shazam down the line, as fans have speculated. No, Dwayne Johnson has his sights set on being the biggest hero in that cinematic universe. And to do so, he has to face Superman.
READ MORE: New ‘Black Adam’ TV Spot Teases Amanda Waller & Possibly Other DC Heroes In Upcoming Film
“Absolutely. That is the whole point of this, man,” said Johnson about a potential fight with Superman. “And I have been saying for some time, there’s a new era in the DC Universe that’s about to begin. And what I meant by that was introducing a brand new character. It’s not a sequel, not an existing IP. It was…you know, Black Adam! Two years ago the world had no idea who he was…Introducing the JSA, introducing that new era of the DC universe. But also what I really meant by, ‘This is a new era in the DC Universe,’ is listening to the fans. Listening to the fans. And doing our best to give the fans what they want.”
He continued, “And maybe, sometime down the road — and I went through this in pro wrestling — is you can’t always give them what you want. But you’ll always know that we’re listening…I have been listening and I’ve been wanting to address fans for years. Because I’ve been waiting for someone to step up and address the fans and say, ‘Hey, we hear you.’ So finally, after many months turned into many years, we ended up with what we ended up at. And the whole goal and intention now is to this new era, new time. Now let’s build out.”
READ MORE: Dwayne Johnson Thought It Would Be A “Disservice” If Black Adam Showed Up In ‘Shazam’
Rumors abound that there are additional cameos in “Black Adam” that would point to Johnson’s character having an immediate impact on the greater DCEU. And judging by his comments, it appears that the actor wants “Black Adam” to be the new “Iron Man.” He wants to change the entire DCEU and have it revolve around his character. Can the insanely popular movie star will that into existence? We’ll have to wait and see.
Fans have long assumed that “Black Adam” would lead to a sequel where he fights Shazam (Zachary Levi), since that’s the most common pairing in the comic books. But also, judging by the fact that the “Shazam!” film isn’t part of any of the marketing for “Black Adam” and Johnson hasn’t really talked about any future crossover with Levi’s character, it’s obvious that The Rock has much bigger fish to fry, so to speak.
“Black Adam” is set to arrive in theaters on October 21.