Poor The Rock. Sure, he had a hit movie this fall with The Game Plan, but his more ambitious efforts don’t seem to work. In fact, not working is the mildest way to put the resounding failure of Southland Tales, a movie that goes down in flames and takes The Rock with it. He tries so hard and is rewarded with shit. Of all the things Richard Kelly has to answer for with this movie (and we could expect a tribunal any day), treating The Rock this way is at the top of the list.
The Rock is right at the cusp of being a real Star. Yes, capital S. It’s just going to take the right role to explode him beyond that B level where he currently reigns. Could that role be in Shazam!, Peter Segal’s adaptation of DC’s Captain Marvel, aka the newsboy Billy Batson who turns into an adult superhero when saying the titular exclamation? The Rock has been considered for both the lead role and that of Captain Marvel’s nemesis, Black Adam. The Rock turned to MTV’s fans to ask which role he should play, and the response came back Black Adam – which makes sense, since The Rock looks JUST LIKE the comic character.
“I sayeth Black Adam as well,” he tells MTV. “I love that. I love that [fans] were so vocal… I’m meeting with [director] Pete Segal tonight [November 1] and we’re going to talk about it."
The Rock tells MTV that some changes will be made to the character to fit his strengths as an actor, but since the writers are going on strike on Monday I hope he’s not holding his breath.