Dwayne Johnson has revealed he's developing a movie based on "one of the biggest, most badass games" of all time – and yes, we're hoping it isn't Doom II, too.
In a chat with Men's Journal for Black Adam, the upcoming DCEU movie that he'll star in later this year, Johnson was asked whether he's planning any movie adaptations on popular games.
Surprisingly, Johnson revealed he was, briefly explaining his love for the Madden gaming series before exclusively revealing that an announcement on a new video game movie would be made very soon.
"I can’t tell you which game in particular we’re doing, but there will be an announcement this year," Johnson said. "We’re going to bring one of the biggest, most badass games to the screen – one that I’ve played for years. I’m really excited to bring it to fans around the world. Of course we’re going to do right by our gamer friends – but really we’re just going to make a great movie."
There's no word yet on whether Johnson will bring the film to the big screen or if he'll be partnering with a streaming giant instead. Most recently, Johnson starred in Red Notice, which launched exclusively on Netflix in November 2021. Johnson has also teamed up with Amazon Prime Video and former MCU star Chris Evans for Red One, a Holiday movie that's due to land on the streamer later this year.
Analysis: which game series could Johnson bring to the big screen?
Given the sheer number of major gaming franchises, it's difficult – initially, at least – to work out which one Johnson is alluding to. But, and this is merely speculation on our part, there are a number of frontrunners.
Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: Madden. Yes, Johnson – or The Rock as he's also known – mentioned it by name in his Men's Journal interview, and he clearly has a love for it, telling Slice of Sci-Fi way back in 2006 that his all-time favorite game is Madden 93. Unless a Madden movie adaptation is a biopic about the late John Madden with Johnson in a supporting role – an unlikely outcome, given his current superstardom – though, we can chalk this one off.
Doom is another game series that we can't see Johnson touching. After all, The Rock starred in the much maligned 2006 film adaptation of ID Software's iconic FPS franchise. Unless he feels that he has unfinished business in that universe, we don't think he'll be ripping and tearing his way through demonic hordes again.
Gears of War is another option and, given his envious physique, Johnson would be a great fit for the supersized soldiers in that series. Get Dave Bautista on board as Marcus Fenix – someone Bautista has regularly expressed desire to portray – and we could see this happening.
And how about Quake, another beloved ID title? According to We Got This Covered, Johnson's fellow Red Notice star Ryan Reynolds was looking into the possibility of developing a live-action Quake movie. Could he team up with Johnson again to make it happen? Never say never.
But there are two obvious choices that a) would suit Johnson down to a tee, and b) are definitely "one of the biggest, most badass" gaming series right now: Fortnite and Call of Duty.
The latter certainly has potential. Again, The Rock has the physical frame to perform any number of stunts in a possible Call of Duty movie. And the franchise has become so over-the-top, from an action perspective, that it would be in keeping with other excessively grand action movies that The Rock has recently starred in.
Still, we can't really look past Fortnite. Johnson has already appeared in the game as The Foundation – the founder and leader of the Seven after Fortnite Chapter Two's wild ending. Meanwhile, Epic Games' multiplayer title is still arguably the biggest gaming series in the world, too.
Putting The Rock in a Fortnite movie adaptation where he plays a live-action incarnation of The Foundation, then, would be a sure fire hit. It would entice Fortnite fans, The Rock fanatics and intrigued film aficionados to watch it. And, if it launched in theaters, you know it'd make hundreds of millions of dollars for whatever studio funded it.
Let's see what Johnson announces later this year, then.
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