Superman, as well as Cavill, were not in the initial plans for Black Adam. The idea was hatched during a round of reshoots for the movie earlier this year, but the cameo was nixed by Hamada, the executive who for the last four years had tried hard to move DC beyond the era where one filmmaker, in this case Zack Snyder, had an inordinate amount of influence and could command an entire slate for years. Hamada had his own Superman plans, one of them involving introducing a Black Superman with a multi-decade-spanning story by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates.
It is unclear where the Superman moves leave Abrams, who is still on track to produce Coates’ movie centered on the last son of Krypton. That feature would exist outside any larger DC movie continuity, much like Todd Phillips Joker movies. The mega-producer had a few setbacks when some of his DC shows — based in the supernatural corners of DC and featuring characters such as Constantine and Zatanna — were scrapped at WBD’s HBO Max streaming service. They are now being shopped to other streamers. But he is not out of the game and is yet another Hollywood power in the mix vying for a piece of the DC pie.
All of this takes place as Hamada, who did not attend the Adam premiere in New York Oct. 12, packs away the final personal effects from his Burbank studio lot office ahead of his last day some time this week. The executive is not even taking a producing deal with the studio, a move that is traditional amongst execs who are being let go but given a soft landing and a courteous “thank you for your service.” To many, that action speaks volumes about how rough the transition from the AT&T era to Discovery under Zaslav has been, including the controversial cancellation of the Batgirl movie in August.