Shane Black has been trying to do a DOC SAVAGE movie since forever, but now we know who he’d want to play the character in his adaptation: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Matt Patches interviewed Black for Thrillist, where he said this re: the long-gestating film:
”DOC SAVAGE is sort of in the ether now. We're hoping to make it sometime next year. I would very much like to do DOC with a fellow named Dwayne Johnson if we can make that work. I made a decision that Dwayne is the guy. It's on the back burner while he's busy.”
Normally, I’d be hesitant to report on someone’s dream pick for a project that hasn’t officially been greenlit yet, but from Black’s language it seems like he’s specifically holding off on going forward until Johnson is available (and/or signs), so it sounds like it’s either The Rock or bust at this point.
I think Rock’s a great choice for the character, and a potentially perfect delivery vehicle for Black’s punchy, often hilarious dialogue. He’s obviously got the larger-than-life figure and persona, used for effect in films like the FASTs and HERCULES, but which has never been employed on a superhero movie asofyet (though we still hear about Johnson playing Black Adam in a SHAZAM movie). He looks like a man of bronze, but with a presence and his trademark knowing sense of humor that could make the film an ideal Shane Black comic-book extravaganza.
How y'all feel about Dwayne Johnson laying the smack-down on your rudy-poo candy-ass as Doc Savage?
