Shane Black Wants Dwayne Johnson For His ‘Doc Savage’ Movie
Shane Blackhas been trying to make aDoc Savagemovie for a long, long time. Hewrote the original screenplay in 2009andjumped in the director’s chair in 2010and then…not much happened, aside from the usualon-again, off-again shenanigans. But this is obviously a passion project for the director ofKiss Kiss, Bang BangandIron Man 3– many filmmakers would have just turned and fled from a project that has been gestating for this long, but he appears to be all in.
And now, Black has offered an update on this movie: he’s hoping to start filming next year and he wantsDwayne Johnsonto star as the legendary pulp icon.
Thrillistinterviewed Black shortly after thenew trailerforThe Nice Guys, his noir comedy starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, arrived online. The interview covers the many plates Black is currently spinning (including the reboot ofPredatorhe just finished writing with Fred Dekker) and the stuff he’s not involved with at all (the upcomingLethal WeaponTV series), but this little nugget is why we’ve gathered you here today:
For those who are unfamiliar with the character, Clark “Doc” Savage Jr. is one of the great pulp icons of the ’30s and ’40s, whose various adventures and exploits eventually spilled out of his own magazine and into comic books, novels, and radio plays. He’s very much a relic of another age, a near-perfect hero who makes Superman look lazy. He’s a scientist, explorer, and physician, capable of inventing wild gadgets and punching his way out of any tight spots. Known as “the man of bronze,” he’s a musclebound martial artistanda literal genius. His sprawling cast of allies can’t help but feel redundant.
Chris Hemsworthwas previously rumored to be the top choice for this part, but Johnson feels like the better choice. After all, The Rock already looks like he walked straight out of a pulp magazine cover and into our reality. Plus, his genial sense of humor and inherent onscreen cockiness will complement Doc Savage’s absurd skill set. If we’re going to believe that a single human being can doeverythingSavage can, you need to cast the closest thing the world has to a real superhero.
But as Black himself notes, Johnson’sschedule is currently jam-packed. He’s filmingBaywatch, buthe’s already linedRampage,Fast 8, andSan Andreas 2. The man never stops working. Black simply needs to find a hole in his schedule.
