Ever since Black Adam finally escaped from almost 15 years lodged firmly in development hell to make it into production, we’ve been hearing constant rumors claiming that either Henry Cavill’s Superman or Zachary Levi’s Shazam were being lined up for cameo appearances in the DCEU blockbuster.
For a number of reasons, both of them make an equal amount of sense. The Big Blue Boy Scout has a power level comparable to Dwayne Johnson’s antihero, Cavill’s manager Dany Garcia also happens to be The Rock’s ex-wife and longtime business partner, and we haven’t even brought up the buzz surrounding the franchise’s canonical Kryptonian potentially descending on this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con.
As for Shazam? Johnson’s Seven Bucks outfit produced David F. Sandberg’s opening installment and upcoming sequel Fury of the Gods, the two characters have been arch-nemeses in the comic books for decades, and Levi has hardly been shy when it comes to admitting he wants to throw hands with the world’s biggest movie star in an effects-driven epic.
Johnson has also hinted that something Superman-related might be in store more than once, too, but director Jaume Collet-Serra claimed to Deadline that by the time the credits roll, Black Adam won’t even know who either of the aforementioned Caped Crusaders are.
“Our movie is an original story. By the time the movie ends, he doesn’t know who Shazam or Superman is.”
Of course, it’s not like we haven’t heard the creatives involved in a hotly-anticipated superhero blockbuster lie about who is and isn’t in the movie, but we’ll find out for sure when Black Adam lands in October.