In a recent interview with Total Film Magazine, Black Adam actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson claimed that both the DCEU and MCU universes should ‘cross paths’ one day and is optimistic that a crossover could happen.
“I am optimistic,” Johnson was reported to have said with a smile. “Just my nature is optimistic. And especially when it comes to [creativity]. Especially when it comes to movies. And especially when it comes to the pantheon of DC superheroes and supervillains. Across the street, we have the pantheon of superheroes and supervillains of Marvel. To me, they can not only exist but they should, in my mind, cross paths one day.”
Epic Crossovers in History
DC and Marvel crossovers are not completely unheard of in comic book history.
The first crossover between the two universes and rival comic book studios was Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man which was published in 1976. Superman has also been facing off against The Incredible Hulk in a long-running rivalry. On the other hand, Marvel’s Daredevil and The Punisher have taken on Batman a few times as well.
Despite this, however, there have as of yet been no DCEU and MCU crossovers that have been adapted to film. Although Johnson is very optimistic, something like that would take a lot of planning, especially to find some common ground between the two magnanimous media studios.
Warner Bros. Discovery Shook All Plans
The recent Warner Bros. Discovery merger shook many plans within the DCEU, some of which were already in motion and as far as post-production. Several series and movies were cancelled, such as Batgirl and The Wonder Twins, which the former had much of the internet in an uproar. The fate of other DC projects such as The Green Lantern series and Blue Beetle are still up in the air until the media gets some kind of confirmation that the projects have not been cancelled.
The shake-up and abrupt cancellations had an unforeseen impact on DC Film President Walter Hamada who was reportedly on the brink of quitting the company altogether but has since agreed to stay on with the studio, at least until Black Adam has been released.
Mimicking what Kevin Feige and Disney have done for the MCU, WBD has announced their 10-year plan for DCEU films, although they have not yet shared exactly what that means.
But on that note, Marvel Studios has got their work cut out for them as at San Diego Comic-Con they shared the upcoming titles for their Phase 5, even teasing at some for Phase 6 as well. In the meantime they have just released their new Disney+ series, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and have their hands full preparing for the upcoming Black Panther sequel.
Black Adam to Usher In a New Era For DC
Johnson has confidently said that Black Adam will disrupt the hierarchy of the DC universe, whatever that is meant to mean has not yet been made clear, but the actor has shared that he believes the movie will serve as a segway to expand the DCEU even more as well as introduce even more comic book heroes. The Rock has also shared that he wants to usher in a new era for DC and hopes that his movie will be a start of a very long storytelling road for his character.
“The goal is to really expand the universe and introduce new characters, and spin-ff, and be really strategic about the plan,” he shared. “We have a few ideas of what characters people are really going to respond to in Black Adam, and so we’re already thinking about that movie, and what that movie looks like for them.”
A DCEU / MCU crossover of this magnitude has been something that comic book fans have been wanting for decades, but with how difficult planning something like this would be, simply trying to get the two huge studios to agree, would make it an almost insurmountable task. Your move, DC and Marvel.
