Henry Cavill’s Superman Cameo Secret Was Kept From the Black Adam Cast Until Premiere

Black Adam didn’t really do the greatest job of protecting the secret of its major post-credits scene reveal, which officially brought Henry Cavill’s Superman back to the DC Universe. The entire world learned from leaks after the first screenings of Black Adam that Cavill was back as Superman – to the point that the cast and crew of Black Adam didn’t even avoid the subject while doing red carpets for the film’s premiere. However, it turns out that the cast of Black Adam only found out that Superman was in their film around the same time the fans did!

In a new interview with Black Adam star Aldis Hodge (who plays Cater Hall/Hawkman), we get some clarification on what the cast of Black Adam knew about Henry Cavill’s Superman cameo – and everything they didn’t know. 

As for when the cast of Black Adam officially learned that they were about to be the film that brought back Henry Cavill’s Superman? According to Hodge it was, “Pretty close to the premiere [laughing]. They kept that all the way under wraps, and I didn’t know until maybe a day or two before the premiere. So they kept it that close.”

Comic book movie studios pulling late-game reshoots to add cameo and/or post-credits surprises is nothing new – after all, Marvel has clearly been doing it for over a decade now. However, what is somewhat surprising about the secrecy surrounding Henry Cavill’s Superman appearance in Black Adam, is that we already know it was the film’s main star (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) who made it happen. Johnson has been honest about the fact that Warner Bros. leadership at the time of Black Adam’s production didn’t want to bring Henry Cavill back in the Superman suit – but Johnson (a friend and admirer of Cavill) fought against that view and ultimately won. 

That all said, it’s surprising that The Rock was able to do all the manuevering between Cavill, WB execs, and film crew of Black Adam necessarily to create the crossover cameo – without once letting the co-stars he was filming with in on the secret. While Aldis Hodge and co. suspected big surprises were in the works, Dwayne Johnson (or “D.J.”) never let anything solid slip out:

“There was no talk of bringing back Superman and any of that,” Hodge confirms. “They’ve got to keep those things in a super vault, so all you can do is focus on trying to make Black Adam the best it can be. So you do hear things and you get ideas, but nothing is ever confirmed or really fully said. And honestly, I dig that because it was a huge surprise for me, and I love it that we got to experience it together with the audience. The fans have been trying to get Henry Cavill back in the red and blue for a minute, and D.J. was the perfect person to bring him back. It just doesn’t get any better.”

Black Adam bringing back Superman has been the signal flare of a whole new era of the DC Universe beginning. And indeed, right after Black Adam’s release Warner Bros. Discovery has announced a new era of “DC Studios” under James Gunn and Peter Safran, with Superman leading the way. 

MORE: What Henry Cavill Wants From Superman’s DCU Return

Black Adam is now in theaters.