The Rock recently shared a motivational speech that points at his failures in a post on his Instagram account. His comments on the Instagram post appeared to address the critical and commercial failure of his recent DC Comics film, Black Adam.
You can view the clip and Instagram post The Rock shared on the matter below:
THE ROCK SPEAKS ABOUT “HAVING THE GUTS TO FAIL”
After the release of the long-awaited Black Adam, the anti-hero DC film didn’t meet expectations with critics or at the box office despite the hype. First and foremost, the film was a box office bomb after earning under $400 million, which was far below what Warner Bros. Pictures was hoping for the picture. The film was also not well-liked by critics, with the film only scoring a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Taking to his Instagram account on January 5, Dwayne “The Rock” posted a video of him into the woods while speaking to his followers that for him to succeed in life he must also have the guts to fail. It should be noted that The Rock never specifically mentions Black Adam as his failure in the video. The caption he wrote for the post reads, “Tapping in with you with a quick thought that’s anchored my success (and failures) over the years that may anchor and help you too on your journey. Having the guts to fail is far more powerful than having the desire to succeed. Having the desire to succeed is very attractive. It’s s**y.”
The Rock added some motivational statements, commenting on how while “having the desire to succeed” is “attractive” and “sexy,” being able to accept failure is also an important part of someone’s personal journey. The movie star added, “While having the guts to fail is extremely uncomfortable. And sometimes it’s scary. But guts over desire has served me all throughout my career – and when we put ourselves in positions to be uncomfortable – to have the guts to fail – we actually set ourselves up in a much more powerful way to WIN. It’s 2023. It’s our year. Guts over desire.”
In his video, The Rock shares some words from his friend, motivational speaker Inky Johnson, who shared with him the wisdom of “having the guts to fail.” He stated, “The reason why I bring that back around to you guys is that having the guts to fail compared to having the desire to be famous, having the desire to succeed — and by the way, you should have a desire to win, a desire to succeed, there’s nothing wrong with that. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, and that’s your truth.”
The Rock continued, “But I have found in life the desire to become famous, the desire to succeed will never be as powerful as having the guts to fail, and I love that because when I look back at my own life and around every corner, and still today, look, I’m a tyrannosaurus rex. I’m 58,000 years old, but I still have that. And that’s my lead foot of just having the guts to fail around every corner. And that leads my decisions. That allows me to take big swings, get my ass kicked on some of them, fail at some of them, but then also succeed at some of them.”
While he didn’t specifically mention Black Adam, he might seemingly be referring to some of his more recent critical and commercial failures. He also noted, “I will always take guts over desire.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR BLACK ADAM
Before Black Adam‘s underwhelming performance at the box office, The Rock’s relationship with DC was growing shaky. As recently reported by Variety, Warner Bros. higher-ups were not happy with Johnson requesting a producer credit DC League of Super-Pets, while also doing little to promote the film. Also, while it took many years and a reported budget of $195 million, plus another $40 million in costly reshoots, to finish Black Adam, the film’s poor box office and critical reception likely influenced the decision for new DC Studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran to opt out of any plans for future installments.
Those plans likely include any anticipated fight between a returning Henry Cavill as Superman and Black Adam. James Gunn also went on to scrap the return of Henry Cavill as Superman character. The filmmaker and studio executive recently announced on Twitter plans for a new Superman that “will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life.”
Following that announcement, The Rock later revealed on his social media that DC Studios would not be including his iteration of Black Adam in the first chapter of storytelling for Gunn and Safran’s new DC Universe. So, it looks like any future plans for Black Adam on the big screen are either on the back burner, if not dead, at the moment.
The Rock did share his praise for Gunn and the work he’s doing with DC Studios. He wrote in his statement, “James and I have known each other for years and have always rooted for each other to succeed. It’s no different now, and I will always root for DC (and Marvel) to win and WIN BIG.”
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Despite the outlook for future Black Adam movies being not so good at DC Studios, Johnson as an actor still has unlimited options for his career at his disposal. Perhaps, a move to DC’s archrival, Marvel Studios, is now in order for the wrestler-turned-actor?
But what do you think of the news? Do you think there is value in the words from The Rock about having the guts to fail? Do you think The Rock should venture into Marvel? Share your thoughts in the comment section or on Twitter. Also, check back with The Illuminerdi for more DC content.
KEEP READING: BLACK ADAM REVIEW: THE 2022 DC EPIC DELIVERS ALMOST EVERYTHING A FAN COULD ASK FOR
SOURCE: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Instagram
