Dwayne Johnson is the most wanted man in Hollywood. It seems like he's announced to be leading the cast of a new film every other day and guess what? Today is one of those days. The Rock is officially going to tackle another character from the comic book pages for director Shane Black.
The actor is already set to play the villainous Black Adam for Warner Bros' Shazam! film but The Hollywood Reporter says Johnson will be also be taking on Doc Savage, the pulp hero created in the 1930s by Lester Dent, Henry Ralston, and John Nanovic. Johnson was the one to actually reveal the news via his Instagram account saying:
It's OFFICIAL: For all comic book fans you already know the world's first superhero (pre-dating Superman) is the “Man of Bronze” himself Clark “Doc” Savage. Want to thank my bud director/writer Shane Black and his writing team Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry for flying in from LA and sitting with me and our @sevenbucksprod's producer @hhgarcia41 on this Memorial Day weekend to chop up creative and break story on this very cool project.
Comic book fans around the world know that the cool thing about “Doc” Savage is that he's the inspiration for Superman. First name Clark, called “Man of Bronze”, retreats to his “Fortress of Solitude” in the Arctic etc etc. Doc was physically and mentally trained from birth by his father and a team of scientists to become the perfect human specimen with a genius level intellect. His heightened senses are beyond comprehension. He can even identify a women's perfume from half a mile away. He is literally the master of everything. But here's the #1 reason I'm excited to become Doc Savage.. HE'S A F*CKING HILARIOUS WEIRDO! Confidently, yet innocently he has zero social graces whatsoever due to his upbringing so every interaction he has with someone is direct, odd, often uncomfortable and amazingly hilarious.
After speaking for hours w/ Shane Black I can see why the creator of Superman took only the best parts of Doc Savage and leaving the “weirdo” part behind. But to us, it's that “weirdo” part that makes Clark “Doc” Savage dope! Can't wait to sink my teeth into this one of a kind character.
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Black, who directed Iron Man 3 for Marvel, is currently working on his Predator film. Johnson is…doing everything. Seriously. He's wrapped Baywatch, is filming a Jumanji remake, signed on for Fast 8 and a San Andreas sequel, voicing a character for Disney's Moana, and agreed to make a film about the arcade game Rampage (which I personally can't wait for).
I'm very curious to see how Black and Johnson will update Doc Savage (if at all). He's spoken about it a bit before with our own Drew McWeeny. The character most recently has had comic stories published by Dynamite Entertainment and DC Comics. Personally, I can't stop thinking of this old Saturday Night Live sketch now…