The Rock: Warner Bros. “inexcusably” didn’t want Henry Cavill back as Superman

If there were any doubts about who was responsible for bringing Henry Cavill back into the DC Universe to reprise his role as Superman, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is here to make sure fans know they definitely don’t have Warner Bros. to thank.

In a new video recently posted to Twitter, Johnson took a moment to celebrate the success of Black Adam‘s digital release; the film claimed the No. 1 spot on the iTunes chart. After touting the film’s success (even though the box office numbers aren’t that great) Johnson threw some shade at Warner Bros., calling the studio out for “inexplicably and inexcusably” being against bringing Henry Cavill back as Superman; the actor appeared as the Man of Steel at the end of Black Adam.

“At the end of the day, the studio was not bringing Henry Cavill back. Inexplicably and inexcusably, but we weren’t going to take no for an answer,” Johnson said.

"This has been years in the making regarding bringing Henry Cavill back and years of strategic conversations and we were not going to take no for an answer. There was no way, there’s no viable logical way that you can attempt 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."

Johnson wanted to establish Black Adam as the strongest force in the DC Universe, and in his mind, there was no way to do so without bringing back the Man of Steel. And there was no better man for that job than Cavill.

"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, Henry Cavill, and there was no other Superman, by the way, to bring back. Henry Cavill is our generation Superman and in my opinion, the greatest Superman. And I mean that respectfully to the other actors, especially Christopher Reeve, but the greatest Superman of all time."

With Cavill back, Johnson made it clear the next course of action is to “build out the DC Universe, properly, strategically and smartly.”

Will Henry Cavill play Superman again after Black Adam?

Although Warner Bros. wasn’t eager to bring Henry Cavill back as Superman, it appears that Dwayne Johnson and his team were able to win them over. In addition to pulling off the post-credit cameo in Black Adam, Cavill is set to reprise his role again, though it remains uncertain when that might happen. “There is such a bright future ahead for the character. I’m so excited to tell a story with an enormously joyful Superman,” Cavill teased of what’s to come in an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. 

Given the current state of DC, it’s unclear when we might receive word about what project Cavill might next be attached to, with many questioning whether a Man of Steel sequel could finally be coming. It’s also possible that Cavill’s next appearance could be in a Black Adam sequel given the way Johnson seems to be building toward a Superman vs. Black Adam showdown.

All that we know at this time is Superman is back in the DC Universe and, as Johnson reminded us once again, we have The Rock to thank for it.

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