The Rock is coming to the DC Universe. After years of rumors, said wrestler/underrated action star made it semi-official on Twitter. What we don’t know is who the hell he’s actually playing. So we’re going to make a few (semi) educated guesses.
Black Adam: 3-1
Why? Well, for one thing, well after the Shazam! movie got killed by Superman, Johnson explicitly said he’d love to play Black Adam. He also seems frustrated that the role didn’t come together, and considering the hero-fest Batman/Superman is turning into, they do need a few villains to fight.
Deathstroke: 4-1
DC is going to be turning out two mid-budget comic book movies a year fairly soon, and if there’s one guy who epitomizes the mid-budget action movie right now, it’s the Rock. He could either anchor the Suicide Squad or Team 7 (which, come on, really? Team 7?), but it seems more likely he’d want a starring role in a solo vehicle. So hello, Slade Wilson!
Hawkman: 5-1
As we’ve noted, pretty much the entire damn Justice League is going to be hitting the screen 2015. We’re assuming they’ll want to give everybody a crack at a film franchise, and the Rock is pretty good at playing muscular guys who bash things. But it also doesn’t seem likely Hawkman will be more than a cameo if he shows up at all, and that doesn’t seem to merit a Twitter announcement.
Martian Manhunter: 10-1
As we pointed out when arguing the Rock should be made The People’s Doctor, the guy has chops, and he’d be able to pull off the melancholy of everybody’s favorite Choco-munching exile with aplomb. And DC seems to be leaning towards getting a tall guy with lots of muscles to play John Jones, for some reason; Jason Momoa is in negotiations to play either Doomsday or Martian Manhunter. Still, that’s a role that requires a lot of make-up and CGI time, and we all remember what happened the last time somebody CGI’d the Rock.
Lobo: 99-1
Then there’s this role, which the fan community really wants and probably is not going to happen. Lobo was in development under Joel Silver, who was going to make it a family-friend romp with an adorable female teenage sidekick. But with DC’s change in direction above that idea is likely dead, and good riddance. The reality is, DC probably wants to do something with Lobo; he’s a fan favorite and is something of a cockroach of a character. Bury him all you want, he’s going to pop back up again. That said, he’s also a cult character, and having to mutter PG-13 swears while smoking a cigar in KISS facepaint seems like the kind of thing any sane agent would make his client pass on.
Any others he’d be good for? Let us know in the comments.
(Image courtesy of Eva Rinaldi on Flickr.)