Dwayne Johnson has revealed he had to fight for Henry Cavill to reprise his role as Superman for Black Adam as Warner Bros. ‘inexplicably and inexcusably’ didn’t want him back.
The 50-year-old wrestler-turned-actor stars in the titular role in the blockbuster DC movie, and Dwayne has revealed he was determined to get Henry, 39, back in his iconic suit.
Chatting to camera in a video he posted to Twitter about the development of Black Adam, as he thanked fans and celebrated the movie’s domestic box office performance, he talked about establishing his anti-hero as ‘the most powerful, unstoppable force in the DC universe’.
To counterbalance this though, and to tie in with the future of the DC Extended Universe, Dwayne then revealed he pushed all the way to get the original Witcher star back in his breakthrough role for a cameo.
It’s since been confirmed by Henry that he will be making a full return as Superman, a role he last played in 2017’s Justice League.
In the clip, Dwayne explained: ‘We have to bring back the most powerful, unstoppable force of all time in any universe. And you guys know who I’m talking about of course, that is Superman. And that is Henry Cavill.’
The Jungle Cruise star then revealed that the studio ‘inexplicably and inexcusably’ did not want to bring back Henry, but he and his team got to work and pushed for it tirelessly.
Dwayne went on: ‘This has been years in the making regarding bringing Henry Cavill back and years of strategic conversations and we were not going to take no for an answer.’
He added: ‘There was no way, there’s no viable logical way, that you can attempt to build out the DC Universe without the most powerful force and the greatest superhero of all time sitting on the sidelines. It’s impossible to do.’
The actor also said that no other Superman would do, as he heaped praise on Henry as ‘the greatest Superman’.
He insisted: ‘You have to have Superman in the mix. So that’s why we fought hard to bring Superman back, Henry Cavill, and there was no other Superman, by the way, to bring back. Henry Cavill is our generation’s Superman and, in my opinion, the greatest Superman.
‘And I mean that respectfully to the other actors, especially Christopher Reeve, but the greatest Superman of all time.’
He concluded that with Henry’s Superman in tow, they can ‘now build out the DC Universe, properly, strategically and smartly.’
He also noted that the changing ‘hierarchy of power in the DC Universe’ had been somewhat reflected in ‘new leadership at DC and at Warner Bros.’, following the appointment of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-chairmen and CEOs of the brand-new DC Studios at Warner Bros.