Zachary Levi Backs Report Claiming Dwayne Johnson “Didn’t Allow” Him To Appear In ‘Black Adam,’ “Tanking Both Franchises”

The Shazam! Fury of the Gods cast and crew appear to be going scorched Earth after the movie’s disappointing box office turnout this weekend. Zachary Levi appears to be pinning at least some of the blame on an unexpected culprit: Dwayne Johnson.

The DC star shared a post from another user to his Instagram Story on Wednesday (March 22), summarizing a new report from The Wrap that claims Johnson “attempted to restructure the DCEU centering him and Henry Cavill’s Superman.”

“The Wrap confirms that in Shazam: Fury of The Gods, the Justice Society from Black Adam were recruiting Shazam in the post credits,” the post reads. “The Rock denied access and [Shazam 2 director] David F. Sandberg had to make a last minute decision to add Emilia and John.” 

It went on to claim, “The Rock didn’t allow Zachary Levi to cameo in a post credit for Black Adam.”

Levi apparently backed the report’s claims by sharing the post and writing, “The truth shall set you free.”

According to the report from The Wrap, inside sources claim Johnson’s “behind-the-scenes maneuvering to boost another DC property — Black Adam, in which he starred — may well end up tanking both franchises.” 

The Wrap reports that Johnson vetoed featuring Levi’s Shazam in a post-credits scene for Black Adam in favor of Cavill’s Superman. He also allegedly blocked director David F. Sandberg from using the Justice Society actors to recreate the same post-credits scene for the Shazam sequel. 

The damning report accuses Johnson of having “kneecapped” both franchises by putting “his own brand before the work.”

Other sources have made claims that Johnson was ready to bet big on a Superman-Black Adam crossover. In January, Variety reported that Johnson “directly pitched CEO David Zaslav on a multiyear plan for Black Adam and a Cavill-led Superman in which the two properties would interweave, setting up a Superman-versus-Black Adam showdown.”

But DC is currently in a new era under James Gunn and Peter Safran. In the last six months since Black Adam’s premiere in October 2022, Cavill has had to step down from playing Superman, and Johnson has had to announce that Black Adam will not be franchised in this new phase of the DCEU.

Levi made quite the statement by sharing (and seemingly backing) that report. Neither Levi nor Johnson have provided comment on The Wrap’s report. 

This comes just days after Rachel Zegler fired back at “senselessly mean” critics of the movie, while the director recently announced that he was “definitely done with superheroes for now.”