Black Adam Exclusive: Dwayne Johnson Talks Shocking Return of Justice League Star

Potential Black Adam spoilers follow! As has been suspected, hinted it, and outright teased for some time now, the upcoming Black Adam movie will officially bring back Henry Cavill as Superman to the DC Universe on the big screen. Cavill’s appearance in the new film marks his first time as the character since 2017’s Justice League, having not shot any new footage since then (as many fans recall, a headless version of Superman does appear in Shazam!, but that wasn’t the Man of Steel star on set). Ahead of Black Adam‘s world premiere in New York City, star and producer Dwayne Johnson opened up about the return of Henry Cavill during an interview with ComicBook.com‘s Brandon Davis, teasing how it came about and their future together.

“Well, I’ve known Henry for a long time. We’re buddies. My longtime business partner, Dany Garcia, she has been a big advocate for Henry. She’s managed Henry’s career over the years. It came down to, dude, we love Superman. There is new leadership about to happen in Warner Brothers. Here’s an opportunity. On our end of Black Adam, we will do everything we can to pay homage and respect to the mythology of Black Adam and build him as being the most powerful and unstoppable force on this planet. And if we do our job right, at the end of the movie, then in comes not only the most powerful and unstoppable force in the entire universe in Superman, but also the one that the fans want.”

He continued, “And that’s the difference. And that’s the new era I’m talking about. This new era in the DC universe is we listen, man. We listen to the fans. We may not be able to do every single thing that they want, but they’re going to know that they’re not ignored because they’ve been ignored for so long. But we’re going to listen to them, man. So in presenting that to Henry, he also… Man, when it comes to Superman, I don’t know if there’s any other person on the planet who loves and embodies the mythology, the ethos, and everything of Superman than Henry. And so I’m so happy that it all came together. I’m so happy the fans are losing their minds over it. And I’m so happy that there is a new shift in this DC universe. And Superman is back.”

Is Henry Cavill’s Superman in the Black Adam movie?

After much theorizing by fans and vague hints from star Dwayne Johnson, yes, it has been confirmed that Henry Cavill’s Superman does make an appearance in the Black Adam movie. The context of the scene we won’t get into here but the return of the Man of Steel star to the iconic blue and red costume is something fans have been clamoring for, and a moment that has been years in the making for the producers of the Black Adam movie. 

“It’s a huge moment, shooting it felt very dream-like,” producer Beau Flynn revealed to ComicBook.com “And also we have not seen it yet with an audience. We haven’t seen that final (scene) play with an audience. So that’s something really we cannot wait for for the premiere in New York…The one thing is that I’ll add to Hiram’s is that a lot of people say that in order to be a producer you have to be relentless, I will say that is true; but boy in this situation it was a level of relentlessness that 30 years of doing this that I really have never seen or been part of or had to continue. Hiram and Dwayne and Dany, these guys were…it was not a day, I really mean it, there was not a day that we were not having a conversation in some capacity.”

When will Henry Cavill’s Superman fight Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam?

After a brief meeting in the 2022 movie, it’s unclear when the two DC Comics characters will next cross paths on the big screen, but that is very much the plan. Black Adam producer Hiram Garcia spoke with ComicBook.com about not only getting Cavill to appear in the film but what the future looks like for both of them. In short, there is a plan and there’s also a lot of opportunities about where things will go next that are very expansive in scope.

“What we really want to establish is that Superman exists in the same world as Black Adam,” Hiram Garcia revealed to ComicBook.com “Both those guys exist in the same universe and that’s important for us. It’s in the universe where our JSA is and so forth, but we really wanted the world to know that these guys are going to cross paths. How we do it we’re still working on it, we don’t want to give that away, I will say that it’s much bigger than what people think. We want to do long form storytelling, we’re not looking for a quick one off or something like that. These guys exist in the same universe and there’s a lot of fun to be had when you have basically the two most powerful beings in the universe on opposite sides, but also have some very  interesting similarities to them. For us there’s a lot of opportunities to tell some great stories around (that).”

Black Adam will arrive in theaters on October 21, 2022. How excited are you to see Henry Cavill’s Superman return and what do you think a match-up between him and Black Adam will eventually look like? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!