Dwayne Johnson: Studio ‘Inexcusably’ Didn’t Want Henry Cavill Back as Superman

Henry Cavill is back as Superman, as viewers of Black Adam now know. But Dwayne Johnson says it wouldn’t have happened if not for his efforts behind the scenes.

In a Twitter video to celebrate Black Adam being at the top of iTunes, Johnson talked about how the former powers that be in the DC Universe were adamant about Cavill not returning for his surprise appearance in Black Adam, starring Johnson as the titular super villain. But Johnson said he knew Cavill needed to be part of the film to help establish a new “hierarchy in the DC universe” — a phrase he returned to repeatedly in the six-minute video, recorded last Wednesday as he drove to work.

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“We established Black Adam around the world as the most powerful and dominant, unstoppable force in the DC universe. That is a fact,” Johnson said, adding:  “If we’re gonna establish Black Adam as the most powerful, unstoppable force in the DC Universe, 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’s Henry Cavill.”

But the studio was initially against it, he said.

“At the end of the day the studio was not bringing Henry Cavill back — inexplicably and inexcusably — but we weren’t gonna take no for an answer,” Johnson said. He said he and his team at his production company, Seven Bucks Productions, began making moves.

“This has been years in the making, regarding bringing Henry Cavill back, and years of strategic conversations, and we were not gonna take no for an answer,” he added. “For us, 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.”

Johnson continued, “It all comes back to, ‘Where’s Superman?’ 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.”

With Cavill back, the Black Adam star said, “now we build out the DC Universe, properly, strategically, smartly.”

Johnson also noted that since the film came out, DC Films is under new management — Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad director James Gunn now holds the creative reins.

“Again, the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe has changed and, of course, now we have new leadership at DC and at Warner Bros,” Johnson said. “Again, the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe has changed.”

Here is the Dwayne Johnson video in its entirety: