Dwyane Johnson Compares Himself and Henry Cavill to Fired Star Footballers in James Gunn’s New DCU

Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam is not a part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new master plan for the DCU, and the Black Adam vs Superman fight that was set up at the end of the Black Adam is no longer in the cards.

Speaking to Variety on the Oscars red carpet, Johnson reflected on the change that left both him and Cavill on the outside looking in at DC’s new roadmap.

“All that I can do, and all that we could do when we were making Black Adam, was to put our best foot forward and surround ourselves with the best people and deliver the best movie we could,” Johnson said. “Our audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple shots, but that’s just the business of it.”

Johnson went on to compare himself and Cavill to championship-winning football players and coaches.

“It’s almost like when you have a pro football team and your quarterback wins championships and your head coach wins championships and then a new owner comes in and says, ‘Not my coach, not my quarterback. I’m going to go with somebody new.’”

In December, the actor confirmed that Black Adam was not in DC’s first chapter of storytelling. At the time, Johnson said, “James and I have known each for years and have always rooted for each other to succeed. It’s no different now, and I will always root for DC (and Marvel) to win and WIN BIG.”

As for Cavill, the Man of Steel star made his long-awaited return to the DCEU in Black Adam’s post-credits scene, where he appeared talking to Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller. After revealing the roadmap for the DCU’s first chapter, Gods and Monsters, Gunn confirmed that Cavill would not return as Superman, adding that he thinks the actor was “d**ked around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company.”

DC has yet to reveal who will play Superman in the upcoming Superman: Legacy, which is set to hit theaters in July 2025. Gunn is writing the movie, which will show Clark Kent balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. For more, check out everything else coming to Gunn and Safran’s new DCU.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.