Shazam 2 Post-Credits Scene Was Harmed by Dwayne Johnson Blocking Any Crossover With Black Adam

Spoiler Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Shazam! Fury of the Gods

It has been well reported that Dwayne Johnson doesn’t exactly see Zachary Levi’s Shazam being in the same league as Black Adam, and that has reared its head again in the wake of Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ poor box office performance. The latest report seems to have shed light on the reason the Shazam sequel’s post-credits scene essentially being about the Justice Society without actually featuring any of the main players from Black Adam’s superhero team, and also claims that Johnson made it his goal to keep the two characters permanently separate.

When Black Adam debuted in cinemas, it brought with it the belief that Black Adam was going to be a pillar of the DCU’s future and Henry Cavill’s Superman was going to be with him all the way. However, it seems that the final scene of the movie could have been different if it had not been vetoed by Johnson. As first reported by The Wrap, the Black Adam post-credits scene was originally meant to show Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman and other Justice Society members approaching Shazam to join their team but Johnson did not want Shazam anywhere near his movie and in place arranged his now infamous Superman cameo. This report was seemingly confirmed by Levi on his Instagram Stories.

If the deleted scene sounds familiar, that is probably because a virtually identical scene appears at the end of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, with Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee’s John Economos approaching Shazam to…well you know the rest. However, this scene too could have potentially featured Justice Society members, but Johnson once again kicked back the idea of the same actors being used, and would not allow access to director David F. Sandberg when asked.

Related: Zachary Levi Comments on Shazam! Fury of the Gods Falling Short at Box Office

Dwayne Johnson’s Bullish DC Plans Did Not Lead To Shazam 2’s Poor Performance.

Although there is no doubt that the problems faced with Dwayne Johnson’s desire to become a focal point of the DCU have left a bad taste hanging over the final stage of the old DC franchise, it has not caused the lower than expected box office performance of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The audience reviews of the movie have been positive, word of mouth should be driving people to the cinemas to see the movie. So why has that not happened?

The simple reason is mostly down to the upcoming changing of the guard, and the fact that as of now Shazam is pretty much redundant. There seems to be no promise of another Shazam movie being made any time in the near future, and general audiences are being very choosy over what they spend time investing in when it comes to movies.

The biggest chance the old guard have of going out with a bang seems to be The Flash, which has connections with many of the other characters that audiences already have a connection with, and it is potentially the game-changer that will instigate everything that is coming to the DCU under James Gunn. This kind of promise is everything that Shazam! Fury of the Gods simply couldn’t offer as a mostly inconsequential offering that even a Wonder Woman cameo couldn’t fix.