The Rock continues to discuss Black Adam's failure at the Oscars.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is used to winning, so maybe it’s no surprise that he can’t let go of Black Adam’s box office bomb. To be fair, he spent many years developing the film and setting up a future for the character only for the thing to flop, and for him and his preferred Superman Henry Cavill to get the boot on top of that.

As much as Johnson’s attempted to reframe the outcome in positive terms, that’s a few major Ls for his record.

This may be why journalists can’t resist asking about it, even on the Oscars carpet many months later. And why The Rock can’t help taking the bait, though his response was typically diplomatic. “All that I can do, and all that we could do when we were making Black Adam, was to put our best foot forward and surround ourselves with the best people and deliver the best movie we could,” he told Variety at the 2023 Oscars.

“Our audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple shots, but that’s just the business of it.”

Its a good idea to have a backup plan in case the backup plan fails. Johnson compares the decision made by CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran to that of a professional football team whose quarterback and head coach have won championships before a new owner steps in and says, Not my coach, not my quarterback. Im going to go with a new person.

Given that Warner Bros. and DC actually did change ownership and opt for a different course, the sports metaphor isnt entirely necessary. Who could blame the new guys for wanting to start over, though, if Johnson and Cavill are the head coach and quarterback in this scenario Their combined DC track record is less championship-winning and more mixed-to-negative results.

Of course, The Rock doesnt see Black Adam as a negative result, and has been stubbornly insisting that the outcome was Good, Actually. Over the past few months, he has been fiercely defending Black Adam, probably because it was his attempt to change the balance of power at DC with him on top.

Unfortunately, the hierarchy ultimately shifted in favour of someone else, and that prophecy came true like a monkeys paw. With time, the pain of failure will undoubtedly lessen, at the very least far enough that he wont be questioned about it the next time he attends the Academy Awards.

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