Well, we knew it was coming, but Dwayne Johnson has now officially confirmed that Warner Bros. is in no hurry to fast-track a Black Adam sequel, meaning the promised era of the DCU that would feature The Rock as one of its tentpole stars is over before it began. Johnson is essentially parting ways with DC, as James Gunn and Peter Safran rebuild the universe, and though he’s not ruling out a return one day, he’s very much putting the franchise behind him for the foreseeable.
The result is that it’s just possible there’s room in his busy schedule for a Marvel role. And though fans might be surprisingly uninterested in seeing him suit up in the MCU, it just so happens that Johnson laid the groundwork for his arrival on the scene as an iconic hero almost a full decade ago. Way back when in 2013, Johnson took to Twitter to pitch an idea to Kevin Feige — cast him as Luke Cage.
Can’t see it? Johnson helpfully shared a comparison between the comic book Power Man and himself, dressed only in some speedos that even Namor would deem too revealing.
If you wondering why Johnson was thanking the Marvel president, that’s because Feige had gushed over the star during an interview he gave to Collider at the time. The producer admitted he’d “love” to work with Johnson one day:
“I think yeah, I mean his name has come up in the past. I’m a gigantic fan of his… I think he’s an unbelievable personality and an unbelievable sort of force of nature. He’s awesome in Pain & Gain, he was great in G.I. Joe, he’s really kind of an amazing human being. His Twitter’s always cool and he promotes the hell out of everything he does. I would love him to be part of the Marvel universe somewhere, someday.”
Obviously, a couple of years after Johnson’s tweet, Marvel cast Mike Colter as Luke Cage for Netflix’s Defenders Saga. However, while Charlie Cox is back as Daredevil, the canonical status of Luke Cage remains in doubt, thanks in part to series veteran Mahershala Ali being rehired as Blade. It’s entirely possible for Luke to be recast, then, meaning The Rock could ultimately achieve his dream MCU role all these years later.
Far from keeping up his reputation as “franchise Viagra,” joining DC turned out to be a major PR disaster for Dwayne Johnson, so it’s easy to imagine him looking to board the Marvel universe instead in an attempt to win back some superhero street-cred. Whether Kevin Feige feels so effusive about collaborating with him these days, however, remains to be seen. If all the stars align, though, you never know — the hierarchy of power in the MCU could be about to change.