There Was No Back-Up Plan For Black Adam's Big Credits Scene [Exclusive]

Major spoilers ahead for "Black Adam" and the mid-credits scene.

"Black Adam" is finally in theaters, 15 years after star Dwayne Johnson revealed that it was happening. (/Film's Ryan Scott breaks the whole journey down for you here.) If you've seen the film or you spend any amount of time on social media, you know that "Black Adam" sets up something that could have big ramifications for the entire DC universe in its mid-credits scene. 

For years now, Johnson has been saying that the hierarchy of the DC universe is about to change. Whatever you think about that line, things are about to be stirred up when another superhero in this universe comes to confront Black Adam. 

I recently spoke to "Black Adam" producer Hiram Garcia about the mid-credits scene and whether or not there were any contingency plans if this particular cameo didn't work out. As it turns out, they took a big leap of faith, especially considering how much Johnson wanted this to happen. 

Though Garcia doesn't reveal who it was about, he says that they did have conversations in terms of who else could have appeared in the mid-credits scene other than Superman (Henry Cavill), but "nothing felt right." He explains: 

"Nothing had the same impact that we knew this ending would have. And there were moments where, in our battles for this, where we were encountering walls, and we had to regroup. And we're like, 'Do we stop? Do we try and figure out a different ending?' And we're just crazy, and we're like, 'No, here we go. Let's go back and do it again. Let's regroup.' "

It's understandable that they didn't want to compromise on something fans craved so much. In fact, Henry Cavill and Dwayne Johnson teased this confrontation years ago. Back in 2016, /Film's Jacob Hall wrote about an Instagram post in which the two of them posed together, listing themselves as Superman and Black Adam, with the hashtags #DangerousGentleman #DCWorldsWillCollide #Superman.

The people behind "Black Adam" wanted this to happen, and Garcia says that they took their plans up to the point where there wasn't any more time to change out the scene. He says: 

"I think we got it to a point where, probably if we weren't able to achieve it, there was no other option. And I think our partners were feeling that, too, where they're like, 'These guys aren't stopping, and their vision's right. This is actually going to make the fans really happy. We got to listen to these guys.' And we're just glad they did."

After all the time spent hyping this film (which I enjoyed very much), I sat in the screening as the credits rolled and thought, if they did put Superman in the mid-credits scene, it would be a letdown. As it turns out, it wasn't — for me at least. I surprised myself by cheering. I guess I didn't realize how much I wanted to see the two of them go up against each other in the future, despite the fact that it's a possibility, not a guarantee. 

One thing that Dwayne Johnson has spoken about over and over through the years is that he listens to the fans. As a producer on the film, and its biggest cheerleader, it makes sense that he wouldn't compromise. I guess that I've gotten jaded in my thinking with superhero films, always hoping for the studios to come up with some clever new character to put in there, but after watching "Black Adam," I realize that my heart lies with the classics. I love the idea that we got to see new characters (in live-action films) like Cyclone and Atom Smasher, and the history that Smasher brings to the screen in a very special cameo. It's just that I have a deep and abiding love for the big three; Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Before I even knew about Marvel, I knew about them. 

Whatever little quibbles I have with the film, it was so much fun. Adding Superman in there at the end was the icing on a cake I didn't even know I was hungry for. 

"Black Adam" is currently in theaters.