Dwayne Johnson Cast As ?Doc Savage In ?Shane Black?? Adaptation


Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson already has quite a full schedule of films he’s prepared to make within the next few years, and now the former wrestler can officially add one more movie to that list. Iron Man 3 and Nice Guys director Shane Black has cast Dwayne Johnson as Doc Savage, reports the Verge, a hero who predates Superman.

Johnson took to Instagram first thing Monday morning to let his fans know and wrote about it in detail in the caption.

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“Comic book fans around the world know that the cool thing about ‘Doc’ Savage is that he’s the inspiration for Superman,” Dwayne wrote in the caption. “First name Clark, called ‘Man of Bronze’, retreats to his ‘Fortress of Solitude’ in the Arctic etc etc.”

Shane Black is set to co-write and direct Doc Savage for Sony Pictures, with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry as co-writers. The character and his skills were described in a press release from Sony.

“One of the most popular characters of the pulps of the 1930s and 40s, Doc Savage was also popularized on radio, film and television. He is a scientist, physician, adventurer, inventor, explorer and researcher. He has been trained since birth to be nearly superhuman in every way, with outstanding strength, a photographic memory, and vast knowledge and intelligence. He uses his skills and powers to punish evil wherever in the world he finds it.”

Shane Black has said Dwayne Johnson is the only person he had considered for the role. While speaking with Collider, Black confirmed that Doc Savage will take place in the ’30s and will include “Capra-esque elements” of films from that same decade. And the director seems inspired by one actor, in particular, having described his vision by asking, “What if Jimmy Stewart were a stone-cold killer?” However, he later tempered that quote by saying a “potential” killer.

Black has a deep love for the Doc Savage source material and hopes that his adaptation will allow a new generation of fans to love the character as much as he does, as he has been reading the pulp stories for 43 years.

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Dwayne Johnson playing Doc Savage feels like a very solid choice since the actor has been building quite a resume involving him being the big action lead. Not only is his character Hobbs (from Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7) getting his own solo film, but the actor has several high-profile projects scheduled to be released within the next three years.

There is the action comedy Central Intelligence set to be released this summer, with co-star Kevin Hart — who he also recently co-hosted the MTV Movie Awards with. There is the animated film Moana that currently has a release date of November 2016. The eighth film in the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast 8, will be directed by Straight Outta Compton’s F. Gary Gray and will be released in 2017 with Dwayne Johnson returning as Hobbs.

Dwayne Johnson will also continue to exercise his comedic muscles with films like Baywatch, an adaptation of the David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson series, alongside Zac Efron. The film currently has a release date of May 19, 2017. After starring in the sequel to Journey to the Center of the EarthJourney 2: The Mysterious Island — Johnson will be doing two more Journey sequels. Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon set to be released in 2017, and he is apparently rumored to be attached to Journey to the Center of the Earth 4, which will be released in 2018.

Dwayne Johnson recently announced he will be starring in a remake of Jumanji, which has a release date for 2017 and has been cast as Black Adam for Warner Bros.’ Shazam! in the DC Extended Universe, set for 2019.

[Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV]

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