The Rock Compares Post-Black Adam DCEU To New Football Owner Changing Coach And QB

Last year saw a major shakeup to the infrastructure of DC Comics' cinematic universe, with James Gunn and Peter Safran taking over as co-chairmen and reorganizing the company's entire film slate. That included removing Henry Cavill as Superman, just months after the actor appeared as the character in "Black Adam," which hinted towards a major showdown between Superman and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's titular anti-hero. During last night's Oscars red carpet event, entertainment outlet Variety asked Johnson about the shake-up, and the star's answer hinted towards some lingering resentment.

"I think it's almost like when you have a pro football team, and your quarterback wins championships, the head coach wins championships, and then you have a new owner," Johnson said. "And a new owner comes in [and] says, 'Not my coach, not my quarterback. I'm going to go with somebody new.'" Johnson also responded to the largely negative critical reaction to the film.

"All that I could do, and that we could do, when we were making 'Black Adam' was to put our best foot forward, surround ourselves with the best people, and ... deliver the best movie we could," Johnson continued. The former WWE star touted the movie's reactions from audiences while saying that critics "took a couple of shots," but said that it's all part of the business.

Compared to the last few years, 2023 looks to be pretty light for Johnson. The "Black Adam" star currently has only one movie scheduled to come out this year — "Red One," a Christmas-themed action movie that will reportedly be released by Amazon toward the end of the year. As of now, there's no word on when, if ever, Johnson will return to the role of Black Adam, and it seems unlikely that his face-off with Cavill's Superman will ever come to pass.