The Rock’s good guy image with DC is down the gutter as more reports about his alleged powerplay behind the scenes come to light. The WWE star-turned-actor, Dwayne Johnson recently entered the DC fold to play Black Adam. Besides the lackluster box office collection last year and the controversy over Henry Cavill’s return as Superman, there were also reports about changes happening at the Warner Bros headquarters.

Apparently, the upper heads were shelving old plans and making new plans for the future of DCEU. In the midst of all this, Johnson’s demands and his actions caused some tensions to rise among the Warner Bros executives who were not delighted with the actor’s meddling. 

Dwayne Johnson disregarded hierarchy by directly pitching to the CEO

Cavill’s cameo as Superman and his abrupt exit from DC were perplexing. But with the recent revelations coming to light, it’s now becoming clear. Turns out, it was not Warner Bros that roped in Cavill, but it was Dwayne Johnson. There is more to it. According to Variety, Dwayne reportedly went over several heads to have a chat with Zaslav where he pitched the idea of Superman VS Black Adam. He had already envisioned a multi-year plan. Now, this did not sit well with the Warner Bros executives.

While film co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy approved the cameo, film chief Toby Emmerich was furious. In 2018, Toby had already made the decision to replace Cavill as the Man of Steel. Apart from ruffling feathers, the Red Notice star’s increasing demands during Black Adam’s marketing campaigns also caused some tensions. 

The movie already had a budget of $195 million and $40 million extra for reshoots. But then Johnson demanded a tequila bar promoting his own Teremana brand at the premiere party. He also lobbied to get a producer’s credit on DC League of Superpets, but never promoted the film. While his increasing demands were met, he could not deliver a blockbuster with Black Adam. 

With the cash sink that was Black Adam will Dwyane have a future at DCEU? Only time will tell!