Dwayne Johnson was reportedly offered a cameo as Black Adam in Shazam 2 – however, The Rock turned it down, and it’s unclear what the future holds for his character.
Earlier this year, The Rock made his DCEU debut as Black Adam, the anti-hero and arch-nemesis of Shazam, played by Zachary Levi – well, in the comics, that is.
During the publicity tour, it became clear what Johnson was most interested in: a face-off between Black Adam and Henry Cavill’s Superman, the most powerful man on the planet vs the most powerful being in the universe.
This week, his vision for the DC universe has crumbled: Cavill is out, Black Adam 2 is presumed to have little chance of going ahead, and James Gunn is shaking up the franchise.
The Rock turned down Black Adam cameo in Shazam 2
According to The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez, “The Rock passed on doing a cameo in Shazam 2 when he was asked.”
Rock passed on doing a cameo in Shazam 2 when he was asked.
— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) December 15, 2022
Johnson’s history with Shazam is muddled. While Black Adam is traditionally synonymous with the Big Red Cheese, there’s rumors that Johnson isn’t a fan of the character.
Following Gunn and Peter Safran’s takeover of DC Studios, The Wrap reported: “Safran needs to win over all the other filmmakers… and Dwayne Johnson’s thinly veiled disdain for Shazam means he probably isn’t loving the idea that his boss is now the guy that produces Shazam. Safran is pretty diplomatic, so I think he will pull it off but it won’t be easy.”
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In an interview with Vanity Fair, Johnson explained how under original plans, he would have first appeared in the 2019 film alongside Levi, a notion he quickly nixed.
“When the first draft of the movie came to us, it was a combination of Black Adam and Shazam: two origin stories in one movie. Now that was the goal – so it wasn’t a complete surprise.
“But when I read that, I just knew in my gut, ‘We can’t make this movie like this. We would be doing Black Adam an incredible disservice.’ It would’ve been fine for Shazam having two origin stories converge in one movie, but not good for Black Adam.”
It’s unclear if Johnson will ever return as Black Adam, especially after accusations of him leaking the story of Black Adam’s profit margins, which was full of “false assumptions.”
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