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Black Adam 2 Halted

The hierarchy of power did change at DC, just not in the way Dwayne Johnson intended it.

Black Adam, the DC superhero movie that Johnson starred in and produced, was to have launched a new franchise, but Johnson announced Tuesday that plans for a sequel were halted and will not be moving forward any time soon.

The move comes as new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran, installed just weeks after the movie’s October release, reshape the entire DC slate, with projects such as Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel sequel and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 falling by the wayside.

“James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling,” Johnson wrote in a statement Tuesday. “However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters.”

Gunn shared his own statement, writing, “Love @TheRock & I’m always excited to see what he & Seven Bucks do next. Can’t wait to collaborate soon.”

Adam, released Oct. 21, was a passion project for Johnson, who was attached to play the character for a good 15 years before it hit theaters. During that time, Johnson became one of the biggest actors in the world and in 2017 used his clout to convince Warner Bros. and New Line to develop a solo Black Adam film, rather than have the character introduced in Shazam! as a villain. (In the comics, Black Adam is villain in Shazam’s rogue gallery.)

Ahead of its release, Johnson touted plans to develop his own corner of the DC Universe centered on Black Adam characters such as the Justice Society of America, as well as a future Black Adam vs. Superman movie, a showdown teased in a post-credit scene that temporarily brought Henry Cavill back as Superman for the first time since Justice League (2017). In many promotional appearances, Johnson even used a phrase that became the movie’s unofficial tagline as he sought to raise his corner of the DC slate to prominence: “The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change.”

However, Adam disappointed at the box office with $391 million globally and earned poor reviews. That wouldn’t necessarily be a problem to launch a sequel if not for several factors. One, the movie was inordinately expensive. Greenlit at $190 million, the movie’s costs ballooned to the $260 million mark, according to sources, especially after a costly 20-day round of reshoots undertaken after a poor test screening. That does not include marketing costs.

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by Anonymousreply 30December 23, 2022 11:54 PM

Failure after failure after failure. Disney and Kevin Feige were probably laughing at all the WB missteps, but they probably think it's really pathetic and sad now.

by Anonymousreply 1December 20, 2022 10:21 PM

They need to “halt” all superhero movies…needs to go the way of the western

by Anonymousreply 2December 20, 2022 10:36 PM

[quote]Disney and Kevin Feige

Not nearly as hard as they would have if this were right after Endgame. However, Phase IV has been very disappointing, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if Chapek's ouster was due in part to this (even though none of these movies would have been approved while he was running Disney).

Fans are relieved that Phase V is starting, and Phase IV can be put in the rearview mirror.

by Anonymousreply 3December 20, 2022 10:44 PM

His attempt at saving face and making it sound like Black Adam 2 hasn't been canned outright is hilarious. No one is delusional to think he's going to be called back to play the character in his 60s.

by Anonymousreply 4December 20, 2022 11:29 PM

R3 Truly, nothing will be different between IV and V. They follow the same formula with every movie, because every movie is actually a chapter of the same 100+ hour saga that started 15 years ago. If they really wanted to do something revolutionary, they'd make a standalone film that didn't rely on any previous film, and was written to never have a sequel or spin off. The characters in the film have no awareness of the characters in the "universe" and vice versa. The film is created with no plans for toys, theme park rides, and endless merchandise, but they just sell a soundtrack and a t-shirt. The plot is written for someone more intelligent than the average American 13 yo boy. No more multiverse. No more tie-in tv shows on Disney + for at least 5 years. They are oversaturating their own market and ensuring their ruin.

by Anonymousreply 5December 21, 2022 3:59 AM

r5 - not denying any of that.

Merely pointing out that Disney and Feige have had their own missteps recently, as well, not to mention that Gunn is likely very aware of the inner workings of Marvel which is probably one of the big reasons he got the job and is being given as much latitude as he is to reconfigure as he wants.

by Anonymousreply 6December 21, 2022 12:54 PM

Why is Black Adam getting his own film?

He once punched my favourite Titan (Terra) literally to death. He’s a fucked up freak.

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by Anonymousreply 7December 21, 2022 1:01 PM

Frankly, I would rather watch Phase 4 on loop than watch any of the Snyderverse shit again.

by Anonymousreply 8December 21, 2022 6:51 PM

Surely the Rock is aging out of the big, muscular guy roles. He must be pushing 60 by this point and there's only so much steroid abuse the body can take before giving out.

by Anonymousreply 9December 21, 2022 7:11 PM

Please PLEASE Let this be the end of the shameless, thirsty mugging by Dwayne Johnson. He’s saturated the media so much that he really does need to disappear for a while. There’s also little doubt he was jacking off to the idea of having a Superman vs “Black Adam” movie; i.e. black guy vs white guy. Johnson has decided to mug and play up his black side now that its more en vogue, after 25 years of being a “white” actor. The guy is shameless with self promotion.

by Anonymousreply 10December 21, 2022 7:26 PM

From what I heard, The Rock has it in all of his contracts that he can’t lose a fight and he wasn’t interested in being in the Shazam movies, which means this series was D.O.A. because Black Adam is the main villain in the Shazam comics.

by Anonymousreply 11December 21, 2022 7:26 PM

The interesting thing about this drama is it’s proof that it’s not a good idea to use movie stars in super hero movies.

The Rock is a movie star and his demands and ego really got in the way of the project. Similar issues happened with Will Smith in Suicide Squad and Ben Affleck in Batman. These actors have too much ego, star power, and control over their careers than to play as a team and when the character is supposed to be bigger than the actor.

Big actors do not work well as super heroes.

by Anonymousreply 12December 21, 2022 7:30 PM

I’m a huge superhero nerd. I’m really tired of superhero movies.

by Anonymousreply 13December 21, 2022 7:36 PM

I like Dwayne, but this is humbling for him

by Anonymousreply 14December 21, 2022 9:36 PM

[quote]The interesting thing about this drama is it’s proof that it’s not a good idea to use movie stars in super hero movies.

Agreed. It seems to have worked better when they cast lesser known people in the big roles. Evans and Hemsworth weren't anything before Marvel. Iron Man was RDJ's last chance before spending the rest of his life giving 25¢ blow jobs (now he's worth hundreds of millions). Pratt was a fat, dumpy white guy on Parks & Rec before he landed Guardians - for which I'll be irritated forever that it became a platform for him to skyrocket into the A-list status.

This story repeats for most of Marvel heroes. Samuel L Jackson is an exception.

by Anonymousreply 15December 22, 2022 12:29 AM

[Quote] Surely the Rock is aging out of the big, muscular guy roles. He must be pushing 60 by this point and there's only so much steroid abuse the body can take before giving out.

There's always room for one more in our franchise.

by Anonymousreply 16December 22, 2022 12:15 PM

Watched the movie sporadically and it was a mess.

by Anonymousreply 17December 22, 2022 12:19 PM

[Quote] Similar issues happened with Will Smith in Suicide Squad and Ben Affleck in Batman.

What happened with Will during SS?

by Anonymousreply 18December 22, 2022 12:35 PM

Can someone explain to me why Phase IV is so hated?

ETERNALS wasn't THAT bad and ok, LOKI bored the hell out if me but WANDAVISION, FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER, HAWKEYE, MS. MARVEL, SHE-HULK and WEREWOLF were great fun. And while LOVE & THUNDER relied a bit too heavily on humor, MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS and WAKANDA FOREVER were fucking epic.

by Anonymousreply 19December 22, 2022 12:47 PM

Externals was horrible

by Anonymousreply 20December 22, 2022 12:49 PM

Everyone is fired but freak pedo Ezra, eh? Oh, WB, you nassssty boy!

by Anonymousreply 21December 22, 2022 1:19 PM

BPOC Adam 2!

by Anonymousreply 22December 22, 2022 1:21 PM

I think Hollywood does this to all the big actors when they get "too big". One moment he brings in the money, the next he no longer brings in the money and Hollywood has a problem with his attitude all of a sudden.

by Anonymousreply 23December 22, 2022 1:31 PM

Well yeah, look at someone like Weinstein. He made the money and brought in the awards until he didn't and then the truth, that everyone knew about, was allowed to come out.

by Anonymousreply 24December 22, 2022 8:21 PM

SMH

by Anonymousreply 25December 23, 2022 1:27 PM

Does The Rock still want to POTUS?

by Anonymousreply 26December 23, 2022 3:18 PM

[quote]Can someone explain to me why Phase IV is so hated?

Most of the criticisms seem to focus on ("shows" include both tv shows and movies):

- the disjointed and one-off nature of each of the shows individually AND within the broader MCU

- the use of various shows as setup, rather than self-contained stories, as they had been in the previous phases

- the more overt diversity agenda over good storytelling

- Just plain bad shows - like Dr. Strange II - with incoherent stories, poor character development, plot holes large enough that they could swallow the multiverse

- Lack of continuity in story, character, and character arcs - for example, stuff in the Loki series should have had far reaching implications and should have been visible in Multiverse of Madness.

It's gotten too big and out of control for coherent story telling. Sure, individual shows might not be too bad, but as a coherent Phase IV, it fails.

by Anonymousreply 27December 23, 2022 3:35 PM

But Ezra gets a Superbowl commercial!

by Anonymousreply 28December 23, 2022 4:34 PM

WandaVision was good but it was a mistake to give her kids so much focus in Doctor Strange. Those who had not watched the show would not give a shit about Wanda being a mother.

by Anonymousreply 29December 23, 2022 10:21 PM

I want to munch on Elizabeth Olsen's hairy muff

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by Anonymousreply 30December 23, 2022 11:54 PM
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