Dwayne Johnson weighs in on Henry Cavill's Superman exit and DC Studios' new direction

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Dwayne Johnson has finally addressed Henry Cavill’s Superman exit from DC after he made a cameo appearance at the end of Black Adam. Johnson was instrumental in bringing Cavill back to the DCU for the part, but new DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn later confirmed Cavill would not be playing Superman anymore.

Variety asked Johnson what his reaction was when he heard this on the Oscars 2023 red carpet. "All that I can do, and all that we could do when we were making Black Adam, was to put our best foot forward and surround ourselves with the best people and deliver the best movie we could," Johnson said. "Our audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple of shots, but that’s just the business of it.

"But I think it’s almost like when you have a pro football team and your quarterback wins championships and your head coach wins championships and then a new owner comes in and says, 'Not my coach, not my quarterback. I’m going to go with somebody new.'"

Johnson is seemingly referring to Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran who have outlined their DCU Chapter One: God and Monsters plan. Their slate includes a new Superman movie and a new Batman film, but one thing that is still up in the air is Johnson’s return as Black Adam.

In December, Johnson said: "James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling. However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters."

For more on DCU, here’s how to watch the DC movies in order and all of the upcoming DC movies and TV shows you need to know about.

TOPICS

PRODUCTS

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.