Dwayne Johnson, the star of Black Adam, believes Henry Cavill’s Superman is critical to the expansion of the DC Universe. Cavill returned to the DCU (formerly known as the DCEU) in the Black Adam film after being absent from the franchise since 2017. While it was a last-minute decision, the British actor dressed up as Superman for a brief but significant post-credits scene in which he encountered Johnson’s antihero. However, as Cavill himself stated, it was only the beginning of his take on the DC icon.
Following the unexpected digital release of Black Adam this week, Johnson took to Twitter to post a special video message about future of his franchise. While not revealing any spoilers or hints about what will happen in the coming years, Johnson praised Cavill’s Superman. The Black Adam actor made it clear that Cavill’s version of the character is critical to fleshing out the larger DC Universe, as Superman’s involvement in the film was a major battle, sharing the following:
“We have to bring back the most powerful, unstoppable force of all time in any universe. You guys know who I’m talking about, it’s Superman. That’s Henry Cavill. At the end of the day, the studio wasn’t bringing Henry back, inexplicably and inexcusably but we weren’t going to take no for an answer, This has been years in the making, bringing Henry Cavill back with strategic conversations and we were not going to take no for an answer. For us, there’s no viable logical way to build out the DC Universe without the most powerful force and the greatest superhero of all time sitting on the sidelines, it’s impossible to do. You can Venn diagram this thing 90 times but it all comes back to, ‘Where’s Superman?’ You have to have Superman in the mix, so that’s why we fought hard to bring Superman back.”
Why Is Henry Cavill’s Superman Important To The DC Universe?
While Cavill’s Superman launched the DC Universe with 2013’s Man of Steel, the franchise has continued without him since 2017’s Justice League. Even though Cavill’s status in the DC Universe was unknown for a long time, the franchise continued to use Superman by having body doubles fill in for him without revealing his face in Shazam! and Peacemaker. Despite the fact that the DC Universe has grown over time with the addition of new characters, Superman has been largely ignored for years, even going so far as not starring in a solo film since 2013.
Superman has always been crown jewel of the DC Universe, whether in comics or other media depicting it. A lot of what DC has been and is today would not exist without Superman, including the DCU as a cinematic franchise. In recent years, Superman has had a more active role on television, thanks to Tyler Hoechlin’s version in The CW’s Arrowverse franchise, with him playing one of the leads on Superman & Lois. However, with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s 10-year plan for the DC Universe, Superman is more important than ever for the films, especially if another Justice League film is in the works.
Man of Steel 2 is in early development, though Warner Bros. Discovery & DC Studios have yet to confirm it, and Cavill’s contract status has yet to be finalized. Regardless of the fact that Gunn and Safran have yet to reveal their specific plans for the DC Universe, Superman is clearly a top priority on their agenda, so it’s only a matter of time before more information about Cavill’s future is revealed. As 2022 comes to a close, hopefully it won’t be too long before we learn more about Superman and Cavill’s future in the DC Universe in 2023.
Source: Dwayne Johnson/Twitter