Black Adam: The world is either black or white, the grey areas are always conveniences. This is exactly what the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) has opted for with their latest live-action movie, Black Adam. This particular project has been in production for more than a decade now and the DCEU is heavily relying on Dwayne Johnson and his fandom to pull them out of the marshland they are in. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has always been ahead in the race as far as live-action movies are concerned, and after all these years the DCEU still finds itself in a rough spot and has failed to replicate what Kevin Feige and his production house have achieved.
Right now, the DCEU has a bittersweet relationship with its fans. The kind of treatment that the American media franchise and shared universe studios has dished out for Zack Snyder and his vision hasn't gone down too well with the fans. Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock has been extremely vocal about his dream project, Black Adam and he has been doing everything at his disposal to make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience for his fans and the fans of DCEU. With the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League (ZSJL), speculations have been rife that the DCEU intends on bringing back Cavill's Superman, Gadot's Wonder Woman, and Affleck's Batman but the studio has made it very clear that they are not interested in following Snyder's vision or timeline.
The Rock in a tweet teased:
From the very first day, Johnson has been saying "The hierarchy of power in the DC universe is about to change" and this has made the fans pretty curious about Adam's story arc. Superman certainly is the DCEU's face, across comics or live-action movies, the Kryptonian is unmatched as far as his superpowers are concerned. Flight, superhuman strength, x-ray vision, heat vision, cold breath, super-speed, enhanced hearing, and nigh-invulnerability, you name it and Superman has it all. Irrespective of everything, Dwayne has continued to market Adam as DCEU's greatest superhero. On the other hand, the DCEU has reworked its entire strategy and is bringing back the original cast of the Justice League.
Affleck's Batman will be seen in the Flash (June 23, 2023) and in Aquaman, the lost kingdom (December 25, 2023). Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman too is rumoured to make an appearance in Ezra Miller's The Flash, but right now it is Black Adam vs Superman that is keeping DCEU's fans on the edge of their seats. Over the years, Dwayne Johnson has earned himself the reputation of someone who listens to his fans. Be it pro wrestling or high-octane action movies, Johnson treats his fans as his boss and has always served them what they have asked for.
The titular character's immense level of strength and wealth of abilities, mirroring that of DC's premier hero Superman is something that has forced Johnson to fight against all odds and bring Cavill back into the mix of things. The movie already has a mixed platter of superheroes which features Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Isis (Sarah Shahi), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan) and it will be interesting to see how the story imbibes, Superman and his part of the story-arch.
