If you’re a fan of Dwayne Johnson, the movies his company Seven Bucks Productions makes, and curious what they’re working on, you’re about to be very happy. That’s because I recently conducted an exclusive interview with Hiram Garcia, producer and president of production at Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, where we discussed not only their latest film, Red Notice, but everything that’s being developed, and the sequels they’re interested in making down the road.

During the interview, Garcia talked about which of their films changed the most in the editing room, what their original holiday movie Red One is about and when they’re hoping it’ll be streaming on Amazon, why making Red Notice was an incredible challenge, when Johnson became so passionate about tequila and why Teremana is more than just a brand to them, their plans for the next Jumanji movie, why Jungle Cruise meant to so much to them and their plans for making a sequel, Black Adam, plans for future DC projects, what people will love about DC League of Super-Pets, other non-Johnson led Seven Bucks Productions projects, and more.

Again, if you’re curious what’s going on at Seven Bucks Productions and want to hear some great behind-the-scenes stories, you’re going to love reading what Hiram Garcia had to say below.

COLLIDER: So if someone has never seen anything that you've produced, what is the first thing you want them starting with?

HIRAM GARCIA: That's a really good question. I think if they've never seen anything I've produced, I'd probably have them start with either, I'd say, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle or Hobbs & Shaw. I think both of those movies were really fun, I think really capture some of the essence and the tone we love to deliver for fans. But the one I'd tell them to see last would be Baywatch. That one I can be pretty confident on. I'd say save this one for the end when you're real tired and you might fall asleep at the end. That would be my best advice.

Of all the films you've been involved with, which one changed the most in the editing room?

GARCIA: Oh, man, these are great questions. I'm probably going to say Rampage changed the most in the editing room. From the very first cut we saw to what that movie was at the end was a very significant change. We had a lot of work to do on that movie, but after the fighting and clawing we were trying to pull together, I think we were able to end up at a good place. But that movie, definitely, from what it was originally to where it ended up was a very different movie.

Which of the films that you guys have made tested the highest, and which is the one that needed the most help after the test screening process?

GARCIA: I think Red Notice may be our highest testing movie. That movie tested through the roof consistently, pretty much hands down our highest testing movie. Then I'd probably have to say the one that needed the most help after the first testing would probably be a mixture, let's say, between Rampage and Baywatch.

You guys are in a unique position right now where I think if Dwayne decided he wanted to make whatever the movie was tomorrow, someone would come in and finance it. But if you could get the financing to make anything right now, what would you make and why?

GARCIA: Anything at all regardless of IP and so forth?

Yeah. What's the dream project?

GARCIA: Look, I think the dream project that's something we've always spoken about at Seven Bucks, we would love to make someday, which is a tougher ambition due to, obviously, IP and rules and so forth, but always been obsessed with Kingdom Come, the Mark Waid/Alex Ross joint that those guys did. I think that storyline was always so compelling. We've always envisioned it as kind of an epic, multi-film saga. I think that's something we've always dreamed of being able to do. If there was ever a dream project, and not trying to start a fire where it's like we're gunning after that, because it's just pie in the sky, you'd love to be able to tell the story, and I always admired that story of the juxtaposition of old-school heroes versus new-school heroes and how they clash and a world so divided in terms of how they view what is justice now and what was it and what should it be. It’s always just always something very compelling in the big, cataclysmic mash-up of old versus new. That's something that, look, in a perfect world, we could do it, would love to do it.

I completely understand everything you're saying. Dwayne's schedule is always... I'm going to use the term crowded. Getting ready, what is 2022 looking like?

GARCIA: 2022 right now is looking like we're going to do a movie called Red One for Amazon, which is our big Christmas movie that we're very excited about that we announced that Jake Kasdan, who directed the Jumanjis for us, is going to come on and lead the helm. We're very fired up about that and involved with that as well. Probably that year, we'll... Knock on wood, would probably be some Young Rock stuff as well. But that's what we're looking at right now for that year, with some potential other things that I don't want to say if they pop in because we haven't green-lit them yet to go that year. But there's another chance for another big movie to go that wouldn't necessarily be a Dwayne Johnson vehicle but would be something else for Seven Bucks.

If I'm not mistaken, you are the one who came up with the idea for Red One.

GARCIA: I did. That was something I had been thinking about for about seven, eight years. During that period of time when we were all shut down and we were working from home... I'm not often home. I'm very fortunate that with our work schedule I tend to be on the road a lot. I actually found myself with a window and wanted to really take advantage of something. "Let me really flesh this idea out and see if I can put down exactly what I'm envisioning to see if we can set this up somewhere." It worked out pretty well.

You've been a little bit cagey about saying what the film is about. What can you say about the movie?

GARCIA: What I can tell you is that it is a very big Christmas movie. We've always wanted to do a Christmas movie, but we didn't want to do the typical Christmas movies that tend to go a little bit broader, I think, in tone. We had been looking for something that matched, the tone and tenor of DJ and what DJ brings to the table, so was able to come up with a really fun Christmas idea, but in tone it's much more of a Hobbs & Shaw, more of Guardians of the Galaxy in tone and vibe because you're dealing with crazy mythological elements, turning a lot of tropes we know about the holidays on their head, but also really big action and globe-trotting.

One of the things that we like about this project is that we can't find a comp for a Christmas movie that's ever been made like this or one that matches the tone and scale of what it's going to be, so that feels exciting for us to do something that hasn't been done before. As we're hashing it out with Jake Kasdan and Chris Morgan, we're just getting more and more excited at how we're going to turn all this fun mythology that people know so well on its head but in a really cool way that is always going to make the holidays feel even more good and more real.

With it being, obviously, a Christmas film and you guys filming it next year, is it safe to assume that you guys are looking for Q4 2023 as the release?

GARCIA: 2023 is the goal. The plan is to have this out for the holidays of 2023. That's the fine needle we're trying to thread right now. It's funny because it seems far away, but you know in production schedule it's not that far away. So we are full speed ahead over here getting things going, as we have a lot of world-building to do and a lot of storytelling to complete.

Believe me I understand how long post-production takes and filming. Yeah, I think that if you are not filming by June of next year, I don't know if you make that release date.

GARCIA: Exactly. And your timeline is fantastic, bud. You really do know production. That's our window. We're probably going to be filming somewhere around... Between May and June will be the beginning of principal photography.

I mean, that's what it has to be.

GARCIA: Yeah.

So jumping into Red Notice, what do you think would surprise people to learn about the actual making of the film?

GARCIA: It's funny. I was just having this conversation. There could be a really fun little doc just about the logistics of making that movie. As you can imagine, making a movie during the pandemic and at the beginning of the pandemic is extremely challenging, and we were the first big movie to come back during the pandemic, and we really felt like we were setting a tone and showing the industry that you could make these movies given all the new protocols. But it was very challenging and not easy. Some of the simplest shots you might see in the movie, you'd never realize how complex they were, just in terms of how you were able to shoot some of these things given the logistics of distancing and who was allowed to be on set and not on set. So something like the tango scene between DJ and Gal was an extremely complex scene to shoot, especially with the amount of extras and background and all the stuff going on. The layers required to shoot that and put them on top of each other to make it feel like a room that was full but the truth was it wasn't was really complex.

That whole movie, I think, from people being able to realize what was a scene, what a scene was supposed to be, and then what a scene became after the pandemic due to restraints or the lack of ability to have location is a fun story to tell. But our goal was to make sure that the audiences never realized that, despite there being a pandemic and that we had to keep our cast entirely in Atlanta the whole time, that we still felt like this movie was all over the globe, that we were in all different locations, but the truth was, given the curve ball that the entire world was given, we were doing this all in Atlanta and in a back lot while we were sending some small guerrilla units out to some of these locations abroad to go and just pick up some exterior shots to feel the vibe of it. But it was movie magic at its best.

Fortunately for you guys, it is seamless. I think the average person's not going to realize.

GARCIA: That's the hope. We did the best we could, a real testament to Rawson and our production team and our production designers and so forth. They really did a good job of rallying. I mean, look, we brought Rome to Atlanta. That opening shot, when they pull up to the museum, we built that, basically that bridge you drive up and the front of that building. We built it in Atlanta to pull that off. So things like that were really just impressive and a real testament to the team rallying and being able to step up to the challenge.

Was there a competition on set between Ryan and Dwayne as to who could get their liquor company in the movie more?

GARCIA: Well, look, there was a lot of fun in figuring out how we're going to integrate both these iconic brands into the film. But they were both very clever in how they did it, and we wanted to make sure we picked the perfect location to do shots for each. Look, I think ultimately the crew always won because then going into the weekend, there was lots of bottles of Aviation and Teremana lying around that we were giving to crew to enjoy on the weekend, safely at home in our bubbles that we were all locked into during production.

Since I'm not recording this and Dwayne isn't listening, which one do you think tastes better?

GARCIA: Teremana all day, buddy. There's a lot of work put into the creation and the essence of Teremana. At Seven Bucks, we know way too much about agave and the distillation process of making tequila, my friend. From going to Jalisco, Mexico and looking at the ovens, we're really in it over here, so this is a tequila company and family and we're big believers in Teremana. But I hear Aviation's really good. But I'm always going to go Teremana all day, my friend.

I actually have a real question for you about Teremana.

GARCIA: Yeah.

The brand has obviously gotten very popular very quickly because of Dwayne promoting it constantly and people really liking the tequila. This is something that uses natural ingredients. What is it actually like when a brand takes off and you have a finite supply of your ingredients? How do you deal with the growth?

GARCIA: Well, I think one of the things is, look, we know what Dwayne is capable of, right? It's funny. Dany, Dwayne, and I have been doing this for a while, and we know the power of DJ once he gets excited about something. I think at the core of Teremana, and it's really at the core of everything DJ is behind and that he promotes and puts his brand behind, is an authenticity. DJ's always been a huge tequila connoisseur, a true lover of tequila, and he doesn't drink, really, that much other stuff. There's a little bit of... You see him mess around with whiskey and so forth, but tequila was always his initial love. I actually remember when that passion began. He'd always appreciated tequila, but we were shooting Fast Five in Puerto Rico and I remember he really started to get into the finer tequilas. So for him to want to make a tequila, it's something that he truly loves, and he truly loves the craft of tequila-making and the nuances of the taste and the smells that come with it and what goes into it.

So I think you really feel that behind Teremana, that he got super, super involved in Teremana and was the guiding light in terms of the flavor and the approach he wanted to take with that tequila. I think that authenticity is what fans feel. When he's speaking about it, he's speaking about it from his heart, and I think that's ultimately when the fans... Fans are smart, and they ultimately know when something feels authentic or when it feels like it's just a marketing push. There's just such an authenticity to Teremana that I think inherently fans trust him, and it's really good. That's what's exploded. Look, even the partners... On our side, we always know. Something like this, we're big believers in what it's going to be able to do, but I even think our partners on the structural side were blown away by the way we just blew past expectations, which were already aggressive expectations, and we completely smoked them. But, again, it's because what's generating that fire behind it is real authenticity.

There's a reason why the only car brand he was ever associated with was Ford, because he lives in Ford trucks. Before he became a partner of Ford, he was already a Ford guy, or before he was partnering with Under Armour, he was always in Under Armour. ZOA, he lives with energy drinks on set. He always did for years and years, and so he knew the deficiencies in certain energy drinks and he said, "Well, you know what? I live in these. I want to make one that doesn't have any of the issues that these other ones have. I want to have something that's natural, that's good, that services everyone." That was the genesis of ZOA. So it's always based in authenticity, and I think the fans are able to pick up on that, and that's ultimately what makes them so successful.

Say you guys hypothetically... This is not a real number. Say you were planning on making 1000 cases for the year, and all of a sudden, your demand is 5000 cases. Basically, I'm saying how do you deal with that supply and demand, when all of a sudden your demand far exceeds maybe what you were expecting to make?

GARCIA: It's funny. We haven't encountered that problem. I'm not sure if there is a preparation for the ability to do that. But in terms of what I've heard, even though our demand has exceeded what was initially expected, I know that we've been able to handle it, so I haven't really been hearing about any issues on that side. But, look, it's a good question, right? There's only so much agave in the world. It's just going to happen that sorry, all the other brands, but now it's got to go to Teremana. You're going to have to deal with it. The new guys want to go toe to toe with DJ, but I'm going to put my money on DJ on him winning that situation and winning that agave at the end of the day.

Jumping back into the movie, you obviously have a finale that sets up a possible sequel. But did you ever think about doing an after the credits scene the way Marvel does it or inserting any bloopers during the credits? Was that ever in discussion?

GARCIA: We do have a really fun blooper reel, but we did like where we ended. In regards to the end credits, with something like this that, in essence, you could view as a franchise starter, we never really like to get ahead of ourselves too much. I think ultimately it's the fans that dictate if they want a sequel, we'll be ready to deliver them one. But there was never really a talk about doing some kind of post-credits scene because we always knew how we wanted the movie to end. We knew we wanted to tee up something big, but we didn't feel that there was really any need for any kind of a post-credits scene. I think we have ideas in our head in terms of where we'd like the story to go, and if the fans respond to the movie the way we're hoping they will, then it's on us to be ready to deliver that, and we do have some really good ideas on deck.

I think your biggest thing, and I just laugh about it, is that everything that Dwayne does can be a sequel. So it's like how does he figure that out in terms of you could be making a Black Adam sequel, you could be making a Red Notice sequel, you could be making another Jumanji movie, there's Hobbs & Shaw 2? It's an actual issue.

GARCIA: It's funny that you say that, and the truth is people always ask because we're in a very fortunate situation where our partners always want a sequel to everything, right? It's a matter of our slate and the stories we want to tell. We're very calculating in what we want to tell, but, look, if our studio partners had their ways, they want a Journey 2: Mysterious Island sequel, they want a San Andreas sequel, they want a Rampage sequel. It's like all of those movies, the studio was clamoring for a sequel, but we felt collectively, "Look, we told a great version of the story. Now, we want to go to tell another story somewhere else."

But it is a very funny thing where if he did the sequel for everything that there was a request for a sequel, he would literally never not be working. He's just been very selective about what he chooses to come back for sequels. So the Fast Universe was one of those, obviously Jumanji. We have very big plans, obviously, for the DC Universe, if the fans perceive the way we want. We have a lot of stories planned for that. But it is a challenge of balancing, "Okay, what are the sequels we're going to do," because we've been very fortunate that the majority of the projects we've done, there's been a request for sequel, and his availability has always been the thing that made it a challenge.

What is it actually like test screening a movie like this during a pandemic? Can you talk about how you pulled it off?

GARCIA: It was challenging and weird and really hard for our director because, look, you know better than anyone that when you're testing these movies, especially a comedy... A comedy testing is so surgical and exact. You want to be in the room. You want people in a very comfortable setting so that they can really go on the ride and enjoy the laugh, and a lot of the humor is interacting with other people in the audience. A lot of these screenings we were doing either remotely or we were doing with everyone very masked up and socially distanced. Look, an ideal setting for a comedy to get a lot of humor is you want a packed house, everyone next to each other, everyone super comfortable, having a blast, not thinking about anything else, just getting lost in the movie. The truth is our conditions weren't ideal because we were doing this all during a pandemic and with all our safety protocols in place with properly distancing everyone in the theater, so you aren't able to get a packed theater house.

Everyone's spaced out. Everyone's having to wear a mask. It's not ideal for just sitting back, relaxing, and having fun. But, look, we did what needed to be done given the rules out there, and luckily, while we were testing, rules continued to evolve and loosen up. So near the end, we were able to do more traditional screenings. But it was challenging, and especially for a director who cut his teeth in comedy, like Rawson, to not be able to sit in that audience and really get a true, authentic feel for what jokes are hitting perfectly and so forth, that can be challenging. But we were able to navigate our way through, and ultimately our final tests were in a much more traditional structure. Again, we got the highest scores we've ever gotten out of any of our movies on feedback, which was really exciting. This movie tested through the roof, and the fans were really receptive to it.

Did you guys actually make any adjustments after the test screening process? Did you learn something, like, "Oh, it'd be great if we tweaked this?"

GARCIA: Tons. That's the norm, for sure, and that's the beauty of test screening, is that you're listening to the audience and they're telling you, okay, what didn't make sense, what was clear, did you see a twist coming, did this not make sense, all of those things, what jokes work, what jokes don't. So from the very first thing we tested to the very last thing we tested, there was a whole bunch of changes in there, and then you're just working to tighten the movie timing-wise so it just feels like a big, fun ride that you're going, that it's not lagging. That's the beauty and privilege of being able to test audiences. It's one of the most valuable things we can do in our business because you're really leaning on the fans and audiences to tell you what they're liking, what they're not liking, what's not working so you have an opportunity to fix it. So, yeah, we were able to make some pretty good tweaks and adjustments to continue tightening and making the movie better, and we've been much better for it.

So I know that Jake is going to Red One. What does that actually mean for another Jumanji? Is that actually something that you think is going to happen?

GARCIA: It's going to happen. It's going to happen, for sure. We have a really big vision for that third Jumanji movie. We just were discussing the pitch the other day. We're bringing it into Sony shortly. But that movie's going to happen. It's going to happen after Red One, but that timing actually works out well with all of the actors scheduled anyway. As you can imagine, Kevin is super busy doing a million things, just like DJ is. All of the actors are super busy. So the timing is going to work out great, but we have a really great pitch for the movie we're about to bring into the studio, probably going to get a script written soon. Sometime after Red One, Jumanji's going to be on deck once it's ready to go, and we have a really big vision for that movie.

I was going to say because we talked just a second ago about how many sequels... It's really up to Dwayne which sequels he wants to make, as you just said. So you're saying to me that Jumanji is one of those that he really actually wants to do?

GARCIA: We love it, and we love that Jumanji family. That cast, the group of filmmakers, it's one of our favorite experiences, love that whole team, Matt Tolmach, Jake Kasdan. But then when you're having Jack and Karen and Kevin, again, another one of those special movies where you have just a bunch of giant megastar actors, and it's just all the best. Those sets are one of the most fun sets you could ever be on. Everyone is so kind, so delightful. They all get along so well. It's such a family that making those movies is just a true joy. Whenever we can do them, we love to come back for it, so that's always a priority for us. That's a big one for us that we definitely want to be able to come back and tell that third movie.

I know that Dwayne obviously loved working with Disney on Jungle Cruise, and considering the pandemic, it did very well. So is that a sequel that you actually think could happen?

GARCIA: For sure. That's another one. Look, I think two of our best... There's been three movies that I think the productions were just total dream come trues, and that was Jumanji, Jungle Cruise, and Black Adam. Those three movies, it was just the filmmaking process... Those are big movies, but it was such a good team. It was such a warm family that came off of it. Jungle Cruise was... Especially for DJ, he's always wanted to be able to have just a really big franchise with Disney, especially based on Jungle Cruise. That was his favorite ride, ironically, from way back years ago when the first Pirates trailer dropped, and DJ was very young in the business. He always talks about how he remembered seeing it and going, "Man, I hope one day I could have something like that and be able to tell that story," because he's a huge Disney fan.

Ironically, Jungle Cruise was always his favorite ride, so when that came around to us, it really felt like kismet and it just made sense right away to jump into it. So add in his chemistry with Emily Blunt. They're the best of friends now. They're both so excited to do it, and they're both so involved in the development. That's something that they are all over us for to continue pushing along, so we were forging the way with that. But that family and that movie, for us and Disney, is such a priority, and that's definitely something that will 100% be happening. We just have to craft that story, but that's one of those that for sure gets a sequel.

Is that one of those things where right now there's someone in a room coming up with ideas, or is there any sort of development on it?

GARCIA: Yes. 100%. We have a room with people in it, and they're working with... No, the truth is that we are grinding away on it. Look, we keep our directors very busy. Obviously, Jaume Collet-Serra, who would be doing that sequel, is deep in post on Black Adam. But we're working with writers. We have an idea of what we want for the story, and we're the process of just pushing that along and honing it. But, yeah, it's an ongoing process, and we are cooking with it, and it is in development. It's part of the game of this business where our job as producers is to keep several boulders moving and we're pushing each one up just a little bit at a time every day trying to get it over the hill ready to go to be green-lit and shot. Jungle Cruise is one of those that's a priority, and we spend a lot of time pushing that boulder every day, my friend.

I don't think enough people realize there's a reason why a lot of people, even Dwayne, are developing eight different things, because you're not sure when you're going to get the scheduling right and the script and when all the magic comes together to get you a green light.

GARCIA: 100%. So well-said. Look, we're fortunate to make movies, but it is hard to make a movie. Every movie that gets made is a really hard process to get it made and green-lit. So it takes a great amount of work behind the scenes to get it even to that point of when you're actually rolling on camera. From the production side, you know that at any moment something can go awry, right? It's like you're never truly safe until the movie has finally come out because there's always potential for some kind of a curve ball.

It's why we keep so many fires burning. It's why we're always pushing and developing, because you really don't know what script is going to come back ready. Maybe a script you get back is super off and is going to take a lot of work. Look, there's a reason why Black Adam, we had been developing over 10 years, right? It's like some things come fast, some things don't, but it's our job in this business to make sure we continue to keep all of them developing, and they'll hatch when they're ready. When they're ready, that's when we give it to the world and go.

Before I actually ask you about Black Adam, I enjoyed the Disney+ docuseries Behind the Attraction, which you guys produced.

GARCIA: Oh, thank you.

Are you guys making more episodes of that, or was it always designed as the 10 or 12 episodes that it was?

GARCIA: No, we have ambitions to do more. We love our partnership with Brian Volk-Weiss, and we love that Disney really loved that partnership with us in terms of telling the stories, and I think the fans really appreciated it. I think there's such adoration and just nostalgia attached to all those iconic Disney rides, and there's so many great stories behind them all that it's a space we'd love to continue to play in, and I know Disney really was happy with the reception it received. So we 100% have plans to do more storytelling in that space.

Yeah. I really liked, actually, the hotel episode. Of all the ones, I really like that one because I didn't know that relationship. There was a lot of stuff I didn't know.

GARCIA: There's so much. It really is fascinating, especially when it's attached to Walt... It's funny. Even for me, one of the great things that we experienced when we did Jungle Cruise was the first thing they do is Disney opens their arms and they bring you in and they start you at the history, at the base. They're like, "History is so important there and basically what you're building upon the shoulders of." So they'd bring you into the vault and they'd take you on this amazing tour that shows you all of Walt's initial visions for Disneyland and the first artwork he ever created that was what he planned for the park to look like and what his initial vision was for the Jungle Cruise ride and so forth. I think the story behind it all are so fascinating to me, and the one thing I... I feel dumb for never really thinking about that much, but Walt was already so established in Hollywood as just a filmmaking legend.

The fact that he leaned so much on the talents of Hollywood at that time, the production designers and the creature specialists at that time, to execute on Haunted Mansion and Pirates and things like that, it's just one of those things you didn't think about, where he was using the best and brightest from Hollywood at that time to make sure all these rides had that cinematic appeal and vibe to it, all the way from who he was using to voice Haunted Mansion and so forth. It's just really a testament to his vision and how it was executed, and I never really knew some of those details. So even as we were watching it, we were fascinated as you get into some of these things that you love and you just realize the lengths he went to make sure he brought this park to life and did it in a huge way that you can feel the... It echoes on eternally, as successful as Disney is, right?

With DC League of Super-Pets, what do you actually think is going to surprise people about the movie?

GARCIA: Look, I think what's fun about it is I don't think people in the majority of the world are as familiar with these characters as they are with much of the rest of the DC superheroes. Everyone knows Superman, everyone knows Wonder Woman, Batman, but other than people being familiar with a little bit of Krypto, I think the idea of seeing this superhero universe and these heroes, seeing Superman's pet in Krypto, is going to be a lot of fun, and seeing it as he starts to assemble this team of other kind of characters as they play into this world, I think it's just going to be a lot of fun. Look, there's been a ton of superhero stuff out there, but what's fun for us is that there hasn't really been any superhero storytelling done like this through the pets of these iconic characters and how they come together. So the movie's really fun.

Our actors are so talented. As you can imagine, anytime you have anything that has DJ and Kevin in it doing what they do, you're going to have a blast with it. So I just think this perspective... I think it's going to provide a franchise and a view into this superhero world that really covers eight to 80. I think, obviously, it's going to be very kid-friendly, but there's also a ton... We cater to adults a lot, and, obviously, we know how many fans there are of the DC Universe. I think seeing that world through the perspective of Krypto and all these wonderful animals and the way they interact in their comedic and biting way, I think it's going to be a lot of fun for everyone.

I'm assuming you guys planted a whole bunch of Easter eggs.

GARCIA: It's one of the great things to do when you're making these movies, is making sure you're looking all around because it's really fun to drop Easter eggs all over a movie.

So jumping into Black Adam before I run out of time with you, I, like everyone else, cannot wait to see this movie. Where are you guys in the editing process?

GARCIA: Oh, we just saw the director's cut recently, and we were really excited. Like you know, a lot of times when you see that early cut, it sets a table where you realize, "Okay, now we understand how much work we got to do." Granted, the movie's in a stage where there are no effects done. It's so fresh after filming. But anytime the movie is that entertaining and good in that raw of a form, it makes us very confident. So really excited with where the movie is. Jaume has done such a good job. The movie is big. It's fun. DJ was born to play Black Adam. I got to tell you, if there was ever anyone who is just perfect for this role, it's him. Then seeing him with the rest of the JSA and all those characters and Pierce and Aldis and Quintessa and Noah, it's a pinch-me moment. It was one of the most fun movies we've ever made and also just the coolest to be making something on this scale and with a character who's going to have this much of an effect on the DC Universe. It's really been awesome, and I think you're really going to dig it.

Look, for us, it was very important with the fandom piece to... Even though we didn't show much, we really wanted to just let fans know and people around the world know that we were setting a tone here with Black Adam and that this is a guy who doesn't pull his punches. We didn't go soft with him. There's a reason why we wanted to show the first person that approaches him is no longer is on the planet. So I think we let people know this guy is a very different character than Shazam or Superman or so forth. He is a bad dude. He's probably the most powerful person in the DC Universe right now, and he's a handful, but DJ does a really good job of bringing him to life, and I think fans are going to have a lot of fun watching him.

So we've talked about sequels, and this is one of those projects where I would be stunned if Dwayne doesn't want to keep playing this character. This is a juicy role. It's a superhero role. It's DC. There's everything about this role. So can you sort of take me behind the scenes? Because you mentioned it took you 10 years to get this thing off the ground. Are you actively developing where it could go, assuming that the fans want a sequel?

GARCIA: 100%, yeah. Like I said, as our job, it's always to be ready to have that when the fans want it. But on top of it, it's the joy of telling these kinds of stories. Obviously, when you're dealing with superheroes and DC characters like this, there's a little bit of a different path because everything's connected. So we 100% have plans and visions for a storyline that we would love to do with this character as well as we're planning how we're going to roll out the other characters within this universe that we're introducing and continue telling stories on the characters that we are going to introduce in the movie. So, obviously, we introduce a lot of new characters in here, and a lot of these characters are big fan favorites, so we're currently working on spinoffs that we can do for some of those characters. We're fleshing it all out, and we have very big ambitions for it. The priority is always making sure we launch this movie right, but we're always going to be ready when the time comes to be able to jump into those other movies and tell those stories when the fans want.

One of the things that James Gunn did with Peacemaker is he obviously took the character and he's doing a spinoff on HBO Max. I would imagine that's a logical place to do some spinoffs. Are you guys currently talking with them about doing spinoffs for HBO Max?

GARCIA: Yeah. Look, I think when it comes to the DC Universe, this is the great thing about being at Warner and DC, is you have gigantic conversations with all the tentacles there of being able to generate content and tell these stories. So we have met with everyone from every corner of DC Universe about how we can bring certain characters to life, how we can continue and build out the worlds on some of these characters, and it's just about finding the right home for it. But nothing is left off the table when you're dealing with characters of this nature and scale and in terms of how we can best deliver more content to the fans. So that continues to go, and you're going to start to hear announcements regarding some of these characters and who we're going to finally be able to tell a little bit more on going forward.

I understand. You guys are currently working on contracts and figuring out some... I understand what you're telling me. When you guys were-

GARCIA: You know how it goes, my friend. It's a lot of paperwork involved. You got to sort it through before you say anything too definitive.

I completely understand. But it makes logical sense to take some of these characters and do... The greatest thing about streaming and having HBO Max connected to Warner Bros. is you can make a two-hour solo spinoff movie or you could make an eight-hour thing. It's basically about what story do you want to tell, not about the length.

GARCIA: You're absolutely right. And, look, what a fortunate time we're in where we have all those platforms to be able to tell those stories, right? I think as a storyteller you just want to have the space and the room and the platforms to tell as many stories as you can with these worlds you love. So it's a great time right now to do what we do and to have so many opportunities to tell these stories. It's just about picking the ones that rise to the top for us and help contribute to the overall vision that we have for this universe, so we're fully in it, and there's going to be more coming out soon.

My last thing on Black Adam. Not to bring in Star Wars, but one of the things I think that Star Wars did wrong with this last trilogy is each movie was designed as a solo film without any sort of thought of making it a trilogy. So, I guess my question with Black Adam is did you guys come up with, "Okay, assuming this is a hit, this is our three-picture idea, or this is our five-picture idea?" Were you guys developing with that long trajectory of the goal if we can actually pull this off?

GARCIA: 100%. We have always had a vision of where we saw we wanted this to go. We've never viewed this as just a one-off movie, I'm such a gigantic comic book nerd and fan, and I love this universe so much, if you can tell from my excitement about talking about all these things. I've always gotten into this with a vision of, "This is the story we want to tell, this is where we would love to see this go, this is how we would see multiple pictures play out, possibly including spinoffs for individual characters," but there's always been a rough, kind of loose outline in our head on an imaginary white board of how we'd want to do it. As we're making that, we start to look at that a little bit more. But, again, ultimately, we need the movie to be received well and we want fans to like it, but there's 100% a vision of what we'd like to be doing in a multiple picture aspect when it comes to Black Adam and the JSA.

So what are you getting ready to do at Seven Bucks that is not Dwayne-centric? Because, obviously, I'm sure you guys are trying to diversify. I heard you might be doing something with John Cena, there might be something with Yahya Abdul-Mateen. What's the other films you guys are doing?

GARCIA: We do. So we do have something with Yahya that is at Warner Bros., a really cool movie called Emergency Contact I'm really excited about. That is being written right now. Probably at the forefront of what we have that we're really excited about is we have a movie that we have at Amazon with Emily Blunt based on Kate Warne, who was the first female Pinkerton Detective agent. So that is an awesome story and an incredible story that... The majority of the world doesn't know Kate Warne, which is crazy. Then as you start to dig into her, you're like, "Oh my God, this woman is incredible," and the minute we heard the pitch, we're like, "This is"... We had been hard at work looking for an Emily Blunt project, something that allows her to do all the things she does well because she is a powerhouse, and the minute I heard that, I'm like, "Oh, this is Emily," right away.

She just knew the minute she heard it. She's like, "I hate everything. I love this so much. This has to be my next thing." She was all over it. It's just been such great energy from the moment we found that for her, and we have a great team around it. We're doing it at Amazon. That's really a priority. We're really cooking away on that and we're trying to get that ready to go ASAP, so we'll be getting in a script soon on that. Depending on how that comes in, it'll let us know how fast we'll be able to go, but we're full speed ahead on that, and that's going to be a really fun, big adventure story to tell about the origins of this incredible woman.

It's also a cool period piece.

GARCIA: Yes, 100%.