Director Zack Snyder thinks Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam could fit in the SnyderVerse. Johnson has been attached to the role of Black Adam since 2007, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe become a juggernaut and the DC Extended Universe followed suit. Once the latter began, Johnson’s character was rumored to have cameo appearances in Shazam! and The Suicide Squad, both of which never came to fruition. The anti-hero and Justice Society of America will be introduced in an origin film set to premiere in 2022, spearheading the next chapter in the DCEU.
Following the lackluster reception of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and 2017’s “Josstice League,” Warner Bros. abandoned Snyder’s vision in favor of a more Marvel-esque direction. However, the release of Snyder’s unadulterated, four-hour cut of Justice League on HBO Max reinvigorated interest in a dark and brooding SnyderVerse. Not long after, Black Adam began filming. There have been reports of Johnson, who has repeatedly hyped redefining the DC universe’s hierarchy of power, advocating for the SnyderVerse’s restoration and continuation of Henry Cavill’s take on Superman. That said, WB has stood its ground on the Snyder Cut not being canon and, in turn, the SnyderVerse.
During a recent interview with Tyrone Magnus on YouTube (via Comicbook), Snyder officially weighed in on the upcoming Black Adam movie. In addition to commenting on Black Adam possibly connecting to the SnyderVerse, he briefly alluded to how the Flash could keep it alive.
"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."
Like with the upcoming The Flash movie, SnyderVerse characters like Batman, Aquaman, Flash, and Wonder Woman will appear in future DCEU installments. However, their character development/the way they are used likely won’t reflect their SnyderVerse trajectory. For example, Flash is depicted as a competent hero in the Snyder Cut as opposed to an insecure novice in the canonical Justice League. The studio has remained aggressively anti-Snyder despite the success of his Justice League and the resulting #RestoreTheSnyderverse fan campaign, which follows in the footsteps of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut. That said, if the latter was successful, there’s no ruling out the former.
Johnson’s rumored support of the SnyderVerse makes sense when examining Black Adam’s comic book mythology. As a long-time enemy (and an ancient Egyptian predecessor) of Shazam, Black Adam is a reluctant anti-hero. The character started with intentions of freeing those enslaved by dictators but, after succumbing to an overwhelming hunger for power, becomes a tyrant himself. Lacking Shazam or Superman’s moral compass, he kills at will, making him perfectly suited for the darker SnyderVerse. The prospect of Johnson’s Black Adam clashing with Cavill’s Superman would likely excite audiences as much as the first teaser for Batman v Superman.
Source: Tyrone Magnus (via Comicbook)
