A new report confirms what we and others following the DCEU a few years ago suspected based on the available and trending intel. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was trying to take over the film universe and put himself at the center of it.
The Wrap reports Johnson wanted his production company that co-produced Black Adam and Shazam!, Seven Bucks Productions, to take over leadership of DC Films from Walter Hamada and his failed regime that churned out The Flash and Birds of Prey.
The report claims Johnson and his ex-wife/business partner Dany Garcia met with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav in 2022. The primary agenda was Black Adam and bringing Henry Cavill back to Superman, but Johnson also used the occasion to lobby for power, according to inside sources.
That didn’t work out as Black Adam underperformed and James Gunn and Peter Safran ascended to the top of the hierarchy at the all-new DC Studios. Cavill also reportedly fired Garcia as his manager in the aftermath.
Johnson famously presented numbers claiming the film made a “small profit” to boost his position. His figures, however, turned out to be ginned up.
The dirt didn’t end there as The Wrap’s sources also make claims about Johnson’s behavior, and bathroom habits, on the set of the Amazon Prime film Red One. The actor is accused of “chronic lateness and lack of professionalism.”
Insiders say he has shown up late and delayed production by up to eight hours. In other cases on various productions, possibly even Black Adam, Johnson has shown an aversion to public restrooms and peed in water bottles to avoid them and save time.
This upset crew members as they were tasked with disposal, according to one insider. “On set, away from his trailer, if he needs to pee, he doesn’t go to the public bathroom,” they said. “He pees in a Voss water bottle and his team or a PA has to dispose of it.”
One source added, “It was a f–king disaster…Dwayne truly doesn’t give a f-ck.” Another added regarding his habits during Red One, “The only thing Dwayne was consistent at was being chronically late.”
Others called it “a control thing” and said he refuses to work more than four or five-hour days. Reports also note Johnson broke COVID protocols in the past and executives under him at Seven Bucks lack experience.
While none of this looks good for PR, representatives for Amazon/MGM dispute the insiders’ claims. “Dwayne Johnson and Seven Bucks have been incredible partners on ‘Red One’ – a film that audiences of all ages are going to love this holiday season,” stated one spokesperson.
“Our testing has been very strong – the reaction from CinemaCon speaks for itself – and we couldn’t have made it without Dwayne’s constant work and support,” they add. “Any reporting that implies that we got to this point with him showing up seven-eight hours late to set is both ridiculous and false.”
Johnson recently returned to WWE and assumed a major seat on the board of its parent company TKO, which arose from a merger with the UFC.
