When Dwayne Johnson tells you that he wants a solo DCEU movie, it looks like everyone listens. According to a new interview, the former wrestler only had to make one phone call to made sure that Black Adam didn’t make his debut in 2019’s Shazam! but went straight to being a major player in his own right. With the DC antihero finally making his debut later this year, it is almost time to see whether the movie can live up to the hype that Johnson has been pumping up via his own social media accounts.

Fans of DC Comics already know that Shazam and Black Adam gained their powers from the same source, and it is therefore not surprising that the pair almost made their debut in the same movie. It seems though that trying to introduce both characters at the same time and give both of them the attention they deserved in a single story was proving a bit of an issue. Of course not wanting to simply be a throwaway cameo, Johnson made sure that Black Adam gained the kind of introduction he deserves. According to ComicBook.com Johnson recalled:

Producer Beau Flynn, who received the call from Johnson added that there are some things you don’t argue with. He said:

“The original plan, maybe five or six years ago I think, was to tell the two origin stories of Shazam! and Black Adam in the same movie. That’s what we had worked on. The script was delivered. When we all read the script, I immediately felt like, ‘We have to separate these two movies. We have to honor Shazam! and that origin story and what that is and what that can be for the fans and then we also have to tell our story, too, as well.’ I think in separating them, with the majority of the world not knowing who Black Adam if you weren’t a serious comic book fan, it was important I think to separate them and tell each story respectively.”

“I got a phone call very early in the morning from Dwayne Johnson which is always very intimidating. He called Hiram and I, he just said, ‘Brothers. We’re gonna make Black Adam. We’re gonna tell this story. It’s so big and so important,’ and that was it.”

Dwayne Johnson Has Big Plans For The DCEU

     Warner Bros. Pictures

While he already has plenty of movie franchises under his belt, Dwayne Johnson has made no secret that he is “100% committed” to both the upcoming movie, any sequels that may follow and even the wider DC universe. Where exactly that leaves other franchises such as Jumanji or Red Notice, which are both lined up for new sequels, is unclear, but having previously spoken about how selective he has to be about the work he commits to, Johnson has some tough choices about his future.

Keeping things in order, though, the performance of Black Adam in cinemas this October is ultimately going to decide the fate of the character’s future movie appearances. Johnson seems determined to self-promote the movie to a massive box office, and as we already know, what Johnson wants he usually gets.