Dwayne Johnson‘s decision to block Black Adam’s cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods continues to bite him after DC star Zachary Levi backed the report that he wasn’t allowed to appear in Black Adam, amongst other restrictions that the DC actor tried to impose during the sequel’s production.
Levi shared a story on Instagram from user @cea.malayalam, where it was reported that Johnson attempted to deny the film’s director David Sandberg the ability to include Emilia Harcourt and John Economos in the mid-credit scene. It was also reported that Johnson didn’t allow Levi to appear in Black Adam and really wanted the DCU to focus on him and Henry Cavill’s Superman. Levi backed the report with the caption “the truth shall set you free,” and the story was shared across different social media platforms.
Once Levi backed the story of Johnson’s refusal to appear in Shazam! 2 and have Shazam appear in Black Adam, fans became more furious, especially since they found it appalling that Johnson doesn’t want to be in movies or projects where he loses. DC fans also pointed out that Black Adam was meant to be the main antagonist for Shazam!, just like in the comics, and it seems like that didn’t matter to Johnson since fans believe that all he cared about was his ego.
Johnson’s refusal to appear in Shazam! Fury of The Gods or have Levi appear in Black Adam has led to the internet slowly starting to dislike the wrestler-turned-actor. While both movies are somewhat tied for audience reception on Rotten Tomatoes, Black Adam did worse with critics compared to the Shazam! sequel by a 13 percent margin. However, when it came to box office numbers, Shazam! Fury of the Gods was a low performer compared to Johnson’s film.
Regardless, it seems like Johnson’s decisions are finally coming to light. While he did excite the DC fandom by bringing back Cavill’s Superman, it seems like fans were not keen to watch this man have these films boost his ego.