Earlier this week, a bit in Variety had some insider information about Dwayne Johnson‘s rejected plans for the future of the DCU. Not long after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger in April, Johnson pitched a multiyear plan to new CEO David Zaslav directly that would lead to a showdown between Black Adam and Henry Cavill‘s Superman. Johnson’s transfer reportedly ruffled feathers internally. As one supply places it, “Dwayne went around everyone, which didn’t sit well.”
And DC followers understand how Johnson’s pitch performed out at this level: Cavill returned for a quick cameo as Superman in “Black Adam,” and that’s it. Weeks after that movie’s premiere (and its lackluster reception), Zaslav employed James Gunn and Peter Safran as the brand new co-heads of DC Studios to chart a brand new route ahead. So, no, Black Adam Vs. Superman is not going to be the DCU’s important storyline shifting ahead, and Johnson’s days with DC Studios are seemingly over.
So how does Johnson really feel about all this? Fans seemingly have a solution for that now, as The Direct stories that the actor took to Twitter yesterday to share a 90-second video that hints concerning the fallout between him and Warner Bros. Discovery over the DC Universe’s future. Throughout the video, Johnson spoke about “having the guts to fail” and the way that “ties into this whole thing” (ostensibly a reference to his rejected plans for Black Adam). As Johnson continued, he claimed having the heart to fail is extra necessary than the need to turn into profitable and well-known and that he’s glad that he nonetheless has that high quality at his age. “Guts over desire,” Johnson repeated on the finish of the video. Read a full transcription of the video beneath:
“A thought I wanted to share with you guys. There’s a good friend of mine named Inky Johnson, you guys should follow him. He’s always got great perspective, grounding perspective. He keeps it raw. He keeps it real. He said something that was really profound that I feel ties into this whole thing: … he talked about having the guts to fail. And the reason why I bring that back around to you guys is having the guts to fail compared to having the desire to be famous, having the desire to succeed.”
“But I have found in life, that the desire to become famous, the desire to succeed will never be as powerful as having the guts to fail. And I love that, because I look back at my own life, and around every corner, and still today– Look, I’m a Tyrannosaurus Rex, I’m 58,000 years old, but I still have that. And that’s my lead foot. I’m just having the guts to fail, around every corner. And that leads my decisions. That allows me to take big swings. Get my ass kicked on some of them. Fail at some of them. But then, also succeed at some of them. So, I will always take guts over desire. Have a great week and let’s get after it. This is our year. 2023. Guts over desire.”
But is this case actually a matter of guts over want, or that Dwayne Johnson has an enormous ego that he thought might overpower Warner Bros. execs over the DCU’s future? Johnson nonetheless seems oblivious to the truth that most moviegoers didn’t take to “Black Adam,” and that extra of his rendition of the antihero in all probability isn’t what DCU followers need. Combine that with tales that Johnson wasn’t the simpler star to work with on the “Black Adam” set, and it seems like this complete scenario is an ego verify Johnson doesn’t need to face. So is that this the tip of DC Studios’ relationship with Johnson? That stays unclear, and Johnson remains to be one of many largest film stars on the planet. But the actor’s Twitter video yesterday hints that he could also be performed with the DCU in any case.
Up forward, Johnson stars in “Red One,” an action-adventure Christmas movie for Amazon Prime Video set to hit the streamer this coming vacation season.