How the Rock’s plan to get Henry Cavill back as Superman fell apart

No studio had a more tumultuous 2022 than DC Studios. Remember when Ezra Miller was tearing around the country as a one-person crime wave, imperiling the future of their Flash movie? Or how about when Warner Bros. Discovery opted not to release the Batgirl movie, which was basically already made? And of course, there was the time that Henry Cavill appeared as Superman in the Rock’s Black Adam movie, heralding his return to the role…and then it all fell apart and he left it behind for good.

A lot of this was the result of a power vacuum left when former DC head Walter Hamada and Warner Bros. film chief Toby Emmerich left the company. We know that Warner Bros. Discovery eventually turned the reigns over to James Gunn and Peter Safran, who are currently giving the DC Universe a radical facelift. But it could have gone differently.

According to a report from Variety, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson made his own pitch to the studio’s top brass. He had a multiyear plan that involved Black Adam and Henry Cavill’s Superman, culminating in a showdown between the two superheroes. But apparently he pushed a little hard, which ruffled feathers within the studio. “Dwayne went around everyone, which didn’t sit well,” one source said.

There were other issues. For instance, Johnson pushed for a producing credit on the animated film DC League of Super-Pets but did little to promote it. He also insisted on selling his Teremana brand of tequila at the New York premiere of Black Adam, despite the film being rated PG-13.

So the Rock was annoying some people within DC Studios. But most likely, none of that would have mattered had Black Adam been a huge hit. It pulled in nearly $400 million at the box office, so it didn’t do badly, but considering its huge budget (much of which went to paying the talent involved), it didn’t do well enough to give the Rock the leverage he needed to put his plans into action. “His demands increased and the returns just weren’t there,” said another source..

Ezra Miller could return as the Flash?

Now the ball is in Gunn and Safran’s court. Although we don’t know exactly what they plan to do, Variety says that their immediate plans “won’t include Cavill’s Superman or Wonder Woman at all.” We’ve heard whisperings of Jason Momoa leaving the role of Aquaman so he can play the antihero Lobo. It’s a work in progress.

Interestingly, Variety says that “some executives” are considering allowing Ezra Miller to continue in their role as the Flash, citing the fact that they’ve stayed out of trouble since their rash of terrible behavior early in 2022. It’s surprising to think that the studio brass would be willing to cast off Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot but welcome back a potential liability like Miller, but none of this is for sure. In any case, The Flash movie premieres on June 16.

What will 2023 bring for DC Studios? Things will probably be less volatile than in 2022, but with this franchise, you never know.

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