Arnold Schwarzenegger played him, so now it’s The Rock’s turn.
The Rock is going to be the preeminent Hollywood action star if he isn’t there already. While his function has been mostly as a sequel booster (see Fast Five, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and the upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation), this former WWE superstar has seen many of his starring vehicles fail at connecting with audiences (and don’t even get us started on Doom).
According to Variety, Dwayne Johnson is taking the lead in a Hercules project that has been set up at Warner Bros. for quite a few years now. At one time Peter Berg was on board to direct, now it looks like Brett Ratner will take command. Remember him? The guy whose fratboy behavior got him canned from directing this year’s Oscars telecast. Now it seems he’s been in comeback rehab directing TV pilots and a Jennifer Lopez music video in anticipation he gets a call back to the majors. Ratner, who directed the most profitable entry in the X-Men film franchise with X-Men: The Last Stand, should feel comfortable on the Warner Bros. lot, as it was he who directed the three Rush Hour films for New Line Cinema.
This new cinematic take on the Hercules character is based on the Radical Comics book which has Hercules, and his crew of mercenaries, hired by the King Of Thrace to prepare his men for war. Ryan Condal, who also wrote Alex Proyas’ now aborted Paradise Lost epic, penned the adaptation.
Currently titled as Hercules, filming would start in late 2012 at the earliest, as The Rock is working with Michael Bay on Pain and Gain and will then move into shooting Fast Six.
