Dwayne Johnson Reportedly Vetoed ‘Black Adam’ Characters for ‘Shazam’ Sequel

Dwayne Johnson Reportedly Blocked the Use of ‘Black Adam’ Justice Society Characters in ‘Shazam’ Sequel

Director David F. Sandberg had to scramble to find a replacement for the post-credits scene.

(L to R) Dwayne Johnson in 'Black Adam' and Zachary Levi in 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods.'

There are new revelations coming to light about what has been happening behind the scenes of DC movies. But before we go any further, we should specify that there are spoilers ahead for one of the end credits scenes of ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’.

According to various sources, Dwayne Johnson –– star, producer and PR figurehead behind the ‘Black Adam’ movie –– vetoed the appearance of ‘Adam’ characters from the Justice Society of America showing up at the end of the Zachary Levi-starring superhero sequel.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

"Oh. My. Gods."

PG-132 hr 10 minMar 17th, 2023

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What was supposed to happen at the end of the ‘Shazam!’ sequel?

Here’s where we get into spoiler territory: in the first of two end credits scenes, Levi’s Shazam was supposed to be approached by Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and at least one other member of the Justice Society to join their team.

In the final film, it’s actually Agent Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) from ‘The Suicide Squad’ and ‘Peacemaker’ who show up to drop word that the Society wants Shazam. It’s a little more confusing, since that pair have nothing to do with the Justice Society, but the swap was necessary when the Rock blocked the original plan.

Director David F. Sandberg offered the first word on the change when talking to The Hollywood Reporter.

Here’s what Sandberg said,

“There were supposed to be characters from the Justice Society, but that fell apart three days before we were going to roll cameras. So, Peter Safran, who produced this movie and ‘Peacemaker’, made some calls, and thankfully, Jen Holland and Steve Agee were able to come by on very short notice.”

Aldis Hodge as Hawkman in New Line Cinema’s action adventure 'Black Adam,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

Related Article: Movie Review: 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods'

The Wrap has since dug into the matter further, pushing the concept that Johnson was doing everything he could to promote ‘Black Adam’ at ‘Shazam’s cost.

It’s also worth noting that Levi posted the Wrap’s headline to an Instagram story with the caption “The truth shall set you free”.

Johnson, of course, was attached to the role of Black Adam for more than a decade before the movie actually arrived last year. While the original plan had been for the historic Shazam antagonist (who has moved closer to anti-hero status as the years have gone by) to show up as the villain in the first ‘Shazam!’ movie, Johnson pushed for him to get his own film.

And in advance of ‘Black Adam’, he began focusing more on the idea of Adam going up against Superman rather than Shazam, with Henry Cavill (who, when he was still scheduled to return as the character, showing up in a post-credits scene in ‘Black Adam).

Of course, all of that was planned before James Gunn and Peter Safran took over running the DC Studios arm of Warner Bros. Discovery and have largely decided to wipe the slate clean and start over. And it’s worth pointing out, before ‘Black Adam’ underperformed at the box office.

The studio is naturally hoping there will be less of this sort of chaos now that Gunn and Safran are on board and overseeing more of the connections between movies and characters, but time will tell.

Ross Butler as Super Hero Eugene, Adam Brody as Super Hero Freddy, Grace Caroline Currey as Super Hero Mary, Zachary Levi as Shazam, Meagan Good as Super Hero Darla and D. J. Cotrona as Super Hero Pedro in New Line Cinema’s action adventure Shazam! Fury of the Gods,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

(L to R) Ross Butler as Super Hero Eugene, Adam Brody as Super Hero Freddy, Grace Caroline Currey as Super Hero Mary, Zachary Levi as Shazam, Meagan Good as Super Hero Darla and D. J. Cotrona as Super Hero Pedro in New Line Cinema’s action adventure Shazam! Fury of the Gods,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.