Dwayne Johnson says he fought for Henry Cavill’s Superman return

Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson said he had to fight the studio about Henry Cavill’s Superman returning to the DC universe.

In a recent Twitter video where he chatted frankly about “Black Adam” and the future of the DC movies, the star opened up about Cavill’s appearance as Superman in the end credits scene of the movie. 

“I felt like — if we’re going to 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 is Henry Cavill,” Johnson, 50, says in the video. 

But Johnson, who also produced the film, confessed that it was a battle to get the higher-ups to agree. 

“At the end of the day, the studio was not bringing Henry Cavill back, inexplicably and inexcusably,” he said. “But we weren’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer … this has been years in the making, regarding bringing Henry Cavill back, and years of strategic conversations.”

“Black Adam,” which hit theaters Oct. 21, stars Johnson in the title role as the character who has the power of various Egyptian gods. In a mid-credits scene, Superman shows up, too. Cavill has donned the famous cape ever since the 2013 movie “Man of Steel,” and continued appearing in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” as well as “Justice League” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” But, Cavill has focused on the small screen for the past few years, starring in the Netflix fantasy series “The Witcher,” (which premiered in 2019). So there’s been speculation that he’s done playing Superman.

Not according to Johnson, though.

Ever since Cavill made the shocking announcement that he’s leaving “The Witcher,” to be replaced by Liam Hemsworth, there’s been rumors that his departure has to do with resuming his role as Superman. While Johnson didn’t directly address “The Witcher,” he did say that bringing back Cavill is an important part of the plans for the future of the DC universe movies, which also include “Shazam!” “Justice League,” “Aquaman,” “Wonder Woman” and more. 

The DC universe has had a rockier time at the box office than its Marvel rival, with mixed reviews, a shelved “Batgirl” movie, toxic fans, plus controversy over Joss Whedon’s vision versus Snyder’s vision for “Justice League.” But Johnson thinks that Cavill’s Superman is the way forward.

“There’s no viable logical way that you can attempt to build out the DC universe without the most powerful force and greatest superhero of all time sitting on the sidelines, it’s impossible to do,” said Johnson. “It all comes down to, ‘Where’s Superman?’ You have to have Superman in the mix.”

He said that there was also no chance of replacing Cavill with a different actor. 

“There was no other Superman, by the way. Henry Cavill is our generation’s Superman. And in my opinion, the greatest superman of all time. So bringing Henry back … now we build out the DC universe properly, strategically, smartly.

“It’s a new era in the DC universe.”