On October 21, Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam will finally make its theatrical debut with the promise to change the hierarchy of the DCU. But he won't be alone.
In addition to the Justice Society of America consisting of Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate, Aldis Hodge's Hawkman, and more, Black Adam will also feature Henry Cavill reprising his role as Superman.
According to reports, Johnson personally fought for Cavill's comeback; and the actor filmed his post-credits cameo during a round of reshoots.
The fact that the public knows about Cavill's role ahead of the film is surprising. But just hours away from the film's wide release, the studio took things a step further with a new spoilery post on social media.
DC Spoils Black Adam Post-Credits Superman Scene
Out ahead of Black Adam's theatrical debut, the DC Twitter account posted a video spoiling Henry Cavill's Superman scene.
The promo video begins with Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam sending Henry Cavill's Superman three Kryptonite-green gem emojis, asking, "you know what that is?"
In response to Black Adam's trash talk, Superman messages back, saying, "Cute. Listen... I think we need to talk."
Interestingly enough, this just happens to be a direct quote from Black Adam's post-credits scene with Superman.
Now, this isn't the first time the Black Adam team embraced spoilers as opposed to avoiding them.
In the weeks leading up to the film's release, not only did Warner Bros. and the trades make Cavill's cameo public knowledge, but Dwayne Johnson used his own social media presence to tease Superman's role.
This new ad is taking the studio's spoiler strategy up another level in not only hyping Cavill's Superman but quoting actual lines from the film's big stinger.
Black Adam's Spoiler-Filled Marketing Strategy
While most superhero films strive to avoid major spoilers, and especially the literal content of post-credits scenes, it's clear that Warner Bros. has adopted a different strategy.
The question now is whether the strategy will pay off.
Heading into its public debut, Black Adam has a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. And, while not all critics are down on the film, it doesn't look like it will live up to the Dwayne Johnson hype.
Bad press coupled with a spoiler-filled marketing campaign may have left audiences without the need to visit theaters.
However, the emphasis on Superman and the film's post-credits scene may be serving another purpose, which is Johnson's long game.
In the months leading up to Black Adam, Johnson emphasized that this film is only the beginning, as well as his future plans for DC films, crossovers, and the like.
Perhaps the effort to connect Teth-Adam to Superman is a way to build public expectation for future cinematic crossovers, regardless of how Black Adam performs.
For now, it seems that the future of the DCU is still in question. What isn't, however, is Superman's role and his apparent "need to talk" to Black Adam.
Black Adam arrives in theaters on Friday, October 21.
