It is quite possible that Dwayne Johnson just became the hardest working actor in Hollywood. Having dropped some fairly specific hints in recent weeks, the star has now officially confirmed that he will headline a Doc Savage movie for filmmaker Shane Black and Sony Pictures, and Johnson could not be more excited for the project to begin.
While the actor is about to hit theatres with Kevin Hart in the upcoming comedy Central Intelligence, he also has Baywatch, Fast 8, a sequel to San Andreas and a reboot of Jumanji on his slate – not to mention the ongoing speculation about a possible role in the long-rumoured Shazam! film for DC and Warner Bros. It is Shane Black that has drawn a new commitment from the actor, though, as he prepares to turn Dwayne Johnson into a truly classic superhero.
Black himself is due to commence production on a Predator reboot for 20th Century Fox, before putting Doc Savage in front of cameras. But, that did not stop him meeting with Johnson, producer Hiram Garcia, and screenwriters Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry to break ground on the new comic book movie – as Johnson documented on his Instagram account.
The excitement here is infectious, to say the least. Dwayne Johnson never fails to deliver in action roles, and Doc Savage would certainly fall into that category. Technically pre-dating Superman, Doc Savage is an explorer and adventurer, as well as being a scientist and inventor with genius-level intellect. Most importantly, this project will provide Johnson with a bona fide superhero franchise of his own, before he ever gets anywhere near signing on for DC’s Shazam!
The collaboration between Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys) and Dwayne Johnson is virtually a guarantee of box office success – particularly in the superhero genre – and it will be refreshing to see a character stand distinct from the current obsession with cohesive cinematic universes. Though his title has been associated with Marvel and DC comic books in the past, Doc Savage is most assuredly a man apart.