Black Adam 2 is seemingly dead on its feet after new DC plans emerged. In a major report from The Hollywood Reporter, Dwayne Johnson’s superhero franchise is one of the victims of new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran’s plans going forwards.
THR notes that a sequel is "unlikely" because, despite "the hype surrounding the movie of launching a new corner of DC, a lot of it led by star Dwayne Johnson," the movie has not performed as well as hoped at the box office.
The movie made $385 million worldwide, compared to its budget of between $190 million and $230 million (not including marketing). The report also suggested that Johnson’s ongoing social media posts about his involvement in Henry Cavill’s return as Superman may be a point of contention with the new DC heads.
The news that Black Adam 2 is likely not happening will be surprising to those who follow Johnson online. On the eve of the report, the actor shared a Deadline article that stated Black Adam will turn a profit and will mark the beginning of a franchise.
"Waited to confirm with financiers before I shared this excellent #BlackAdam news – our film will PROFIT between $52M-$72M," he tweeted. "Fact. At almost $400M worldwide we are building our new franchise step by step (first Captain America did $370M) for the DC future."
However, it seems Black Adam isn’t the only movie in danger with several existing DC properties also in flux. Wonder Woman 3 is not moving forwards with Patty Jenkins, Henry Cavill’s Superman may not be returning for Man Of Steel 2 after all, and it seems Jason Momoa may no longer be playing Aquaman.
Gunn and Safran will be presenting their full plan to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav soon. While we wait to hear more, check out our guide to all of the new superhero movies on the way.
