When Dwayne Johnson was first slated to play the role of the ancient superhero Teth Adam, later known as Black Adam, the actor famously said that ‘the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change.’ The disclaimer sounded by the actor came back to haunt the DCEU and its legions of fans as the actor put his entire weight behind promoting Black Adam in the cinematic universe based on his vision, at any cost.
Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam
New CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have reimagined visions for the DCU and will stop at nothing to imprint the same upon the franchise. There has been consistent chopping and changing in the franchise with several creatives fired, along with premier actors like Henry Cavill, who plays Superman, and later Johnson himself, getting asked to leave the DCU.
Shazam! star Zachary Levi says he hasn’t seen Black Adam yet
There has been a certain amount of friction between actors Zachary Levi and Dwayne Johnson over their characters in the cinematic universe. Johnson had been against intertwining Levi’s character, superhero Shazam, and his own Black Adam, within the DCU. Johnson’s movie, Black Adam (2022) hit theatres last November, but Levi hasn’t been to see it yet.
Zachary Levi as Shazam
Levi was asked by an interviewer about the movie, and he revealed that he hadn’t gotten around to watching it yet.
“Have you watched Black Adam?” asks the interviewer, to which Levi says, “I have…not, I have not… eventually, I mean, I have got a whole, a full plate of other things that I need to get to in life,”
Levi keeping his distance from the movie has been interpreted largely as a result of the animosity that might be between the two actors, what with the Rock partly sabotaging Levi’s movies.
There has been friction between The Rock and Zachary Levi about their roles in the DCU
Black Adam didn’t do too well at the box office, despite Johnson’s very concerted efforts in making his superhero a major success right away. There have been reports about Johnson shutting down a Shazam cameo in the post-credits scene of the movie, which would see the latter getting recruited by the Justice Society of America. The move was bound to tick Levi off the wrong way.
It looks like the two actors are at odds
Johnson had also kept his character away from Shazam earlier. Shazam! (2019) was supposed to introduce Black Adam too initially, but The Rock had reportedly felt that it wouldn’t be fair to Black Adam to not have a separate origin story. The Rock’s reluctance to feature a Black Adam cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) only adds to the list. It seems like the powers that be have finally run out of patience with the wrestler-turned-actor and asked him to take his leave from the studio.
