According to Deadline Universal is courting Dwayne Johnson for the reboot of the Wold Man as part of their shared classic monster universe. Continue reading for more details.
There is no mention of a deal in place and the report states that his potential involvement is being “understandably downplayed” due to his busy workload the next few years (seriously, between Ballers and all of the films this guy appears in each year where does he find the time). This is a testament to the type of A-list talent that Universal is targeting for their classic monster films. Already Tom Cruise will be appearing in next year’s remake of The Mummy with a cameo/recurring role for Rusell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Johnny Depp is reportedly in line to star as the Invisible Man, Angelina Jolie has been rumored to be the top choice for Bride of Frankenstein, and Scarlett Johansson has been connected to Creature from the Black Lagoon (which I’ve heard conflicting reports about whether that is part of the shared universe or not). While The Rock would not be considered an acting talent on par with many of those names, he’s certainly an A-lister who is extremely bankable.
Screen Rant provided the following opinion on what this role could mean for Johnson:
‘The Wolf Man, as it were, would offer Johnson an opportunity to play something between a superhero and a supervillain – a “misunderstood,” but nevertheless dangerous being with supernatural powers. In the hands of attached screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners), The Wolf Man should offer the type of physically-demanding, yet multi-faceted, action movie role that Johnson is both good at and generally sticks to. The real question is whether or not Johnson has the time to commit to The Wolf Man, given all his other developing projects.”
If early reports for The Mummy are any indication, this rebooted monster franchise appears to lean more towards action/adventure than horror. That is right in Johnson’s wheelhouse. Whether he plays the title Wolf Man (most likely) or a character trying to hunt the Wolf Man, he should be right at home in a film like this. I’ll admit that when I first heard Universal was looking to remake all their monster films into a shared universe, similar to Avengers, I didn’t think it had a chance of being profitable. Outside of the Mummy films the recent attempted remakes have all been major flops that didn’t kickstart franchises like they hoped. However, Universal is bringing in some impressive talent to fill out their roster so they might be able to pull this off after all.
What do you think about the prospect of Dwayne Johnson starring in a remake of The Wolf Man? Share your thoughts below.
