Yesterday, we met with The Rock about his upcoming project Hercules. Most of the time was spent discussing that, of course, but at one point, the conversation veered toward his participation in the DC Superhero Universe and he was both cryptic and candid. The big man gave us several different attributes his hero possesses, and while we can’t say for sure which suit he’ll wear, we think there’s a real possibility it might be Lobo.
According to Johnson, who met with us and a small group of other journalists as part CinemaCon, there were three principal qualities any proposed hero needed to have before he agreed to consider playing them. The first condition was that he had to be an emotionally rich character that the star could really dive into on a more than surface level. The actor shared,
"He had to be extremely complex and have a lot going on. What that does for me as an actor and for the studio is it just gives us space that we can explore."
Bridging from that desire, Johnson also wants to be able to bring something fresh to the table, meaning that the character we will get to see him play will be brand new to the big screen, though also very well-known:
"What that does, again as an actor, is that it gives me a little bit of space…it gives me a chance to put an imprint into his personality with the set of tools that I can bring to the table and put a very unique twist on his personality – but still pay homage to who he is."
The third quality?
"He had to be a badass motherfucker. And on Superman level of power where he can throw down. In those three qualities I’m happy we found that character and right now we’re out to a lot of writers."
So where does that leave things? If John Stewart is off the table due to the existence of the 2011 Green Lantern movie (which isn’t necessarily the case), I find myself wondering if it’s possible that Johnson has convinced the folks at Warner Bros. and DC to possibly give the alien bounty hunter Lobo another shot. In addition to matching all three qualifications, the character has been linked to the star in the past. Adding to the mystery is the fact that Johnson told us he has yet to have any discussions about a possible cameo in Zack Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman, which could actually be seen as more evidence towards the Lobo theory.
Hollywood takes secrecy to a whole new level when it comes to comic book movies, with all developments regarding new superhero projects kept under incredibly tight security, but Johnson has been a bit of a rule-breaker in that department. It all began at the very end of last year when the wrestler-turned-action star revealed to the world on Twitter that he had been having some conversations with the folks at Warner Bros. about the possibility of taking on a DC Comics character, and the buzz only grew when he sent out an Instagram that included the hashtag "#JohnStewartCanStillWhupSupermansAss" (a reference to the character Green Lantern).
Sadly, we still don’t know exactly who Johnson will be playing within the DC Comics universe. Maybe the choice really is the long-rumored Green Lantern, but there’s a distinct possibility Lobo is the right answer. We’ll keep you updated.
But what do all of you think? Looking at the clues, who do you think Dwayne Johnson is going to be playing in the DC Universe? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
