Superman is back! Or at least that is what it certainly seems like after the premiere of Black Adam. The Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson-led DC epic has been nearly fifteen years in the making and is finally here. The project is getting mostly positive reviews but has critics raving over its surprise end-credits stinger.
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for the finale of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
After appearing in Black Adam's post-credits sequence, Henry Cavill's Superman is back for the first time on the big screen in more than five years. The future of Cavill's DC hero is rather murky, but the Black Adam cameo has fans raving over the idea of a full-fledged Man of Steel 2 coming at some point.
Rumors of a Man of Steel sequel have been making their way around the internet, with some insiders claiming Warner Brothers is in the middle of facilitating "a new deal with Henry Cavill."
So what does the man behind Black Adam (and in turn, Cavill's return) have to say about all of this?
The Rock Talk Man of Steel 2
At the Black Adam premiere event in New York City, star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson spoke on the potential for a Man of Steel 2 after Henry Cavill made his long-awaited return as Superman in the latest DC blockbuster.
After being asked by Entertainment Tonight how much he had to do with Cavill coming back and what he knows about a Man of Steel sequel, Johnson was rather cagey on the subject noting that whatever they were going to do with Black Adam they "always put the fans first:"
“Well, here’s what I can tell you. I can tell you that the whole goal and initiative of ‘Black Adam’ was to build out the DC Universe by introducing not only Black Adam but the entire JSA. Five new superhero characters in one movie. And also as I have been saying all along, there’s an ethos that we at Seven Bucks have, myself, my cofounders Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, and that is we always put the fans first. The audience comes first."
He said that the "audiences have been so passionate and vocal" and "We’ve established Black Adam as the most powerful and unstoppable force on our planet" so it was about time to ask "where’s the most unstoppable force in the universe?:"
"So for years, audiences have be so passionate and vocal. We’ve established Black Adam as the most powerful and unstoppable force on our planet. But the fans have been so passionate about, as we have been, where’s the most unstoppable force in the universe? Where is he?"
Johnson finished his answer off by neither confirming a Man of Steel 2 being in the works, but simply offering a "Welcome home" to Cavill:
"Well, just like I fought hard for ‘Black Adam’ for fifteen years, Dany [Garcia] has been fighting for six years, Hiram [Garcia] has been fighting for six years, we’ve all been fighting for this moment. So, I will say this, ‘Welcome home!’”
This isn't the first time the actor has spoken on the subject of everyone's favorite Kryptonian. In an interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon promoting Black Adam, the WWE star-turned-actor noted that "Black Adam has all the powers of Superman" but Superman "a code of ethics" while Black Adam "Black Adam will kill you" plain and simple:
“So, when we announced that I was gonna play Black Adam, it was just harder for the studio partners to look past the Justice League. They saw Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman and Aquaman and Flash. And I love -- I love the Justice League, and I love Superman. But I always felt that, you know, if you look past that, there’s some really cool characters in the DC Bible, for example, like Black Adam has all the powers of Superman. But Superman won’t kill because he has a code of honor and a code of ethics, which we appreciate and love. But Black Adam will kill you. I mean, that’s it."
Black Adam Knows More Than He's Leading On
Unless something is really amiss, and this is a disaster waiting to happen, it certainly seems like Henry Cavill is officially back as the DCEU's Superman, and a Man of Steel 2 is not far away.
When Dwayne Johnson answers the above question he does so like he is hiding something. He is not taken aback by the prompt, he knew this was coming and in typical WWE fashion had the perfect zinger to hurl back, in this case being that "Welcome home" line. One does not say that unless they have some knowledge of what is coming next.
It is amazing that in all the lead-up to Black Adam and in all the mentions of wanting to one day take on the Man of Steel on-screen, it was all part of a carefully calculated plan to reintroduce the Kryptonian. The Rock did this, not in wishing that it one day happen, but knowing that there was more coming down the line for the hero, and doing this would get audiences hyped for the idea of more Superman. That way they can squeeze every ounce of excitement out of the moment when he finally shows up back on screen.
Black Adam hits theaters worldwide on Friday, November 21, 2022.
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