Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has hinted at the possibility of becoming DC’s first black Superman.
The actor was attending the Hollywood premiere of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw yesterday (July 14) when conversation turned to diversity and inclusion in the superhero genre.
Johnson, who will soon be joining the DC Universe as Black Adam, mentioned his hope that one day we will see a black Superman – before saying he believes he’d be the man for the job.
In a red carpet interview with Variety, the 47-year-old actor said he thinks Hollywood is ‘doing great’ with regards to becoming more inclusive.
Johnson continued:
I think obviously Marvel has done a tremendous job in building out. And also, for me, we’re doing Black Adam with Warner Brothers and DC, we’re very excited about that.
I think as everything builds and grows, and you take the temperament of society and what’s happening, and I think here in Hollywood — especially with franchises and characters and publicly traded companies who are sensitive to that kind of thing — so yeah, I think they’re doing a great job.
He didn’t stop there though, adding with a smile and a wink: ‘And maybe one day we will see a black Superman. You’re looking at him.’
The Rock might not want to commit to anything just yet though; otherwise he’ll be juggling two major roles at once due to him having the lead role in Black Adam, a movie which has been in the works for a number of years but which looks as though will finally take off.
The wheels are officially in motion for the Shazam! spin-off, with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw producer Hiram Garcia – who collaborates on all of Johnson’s projects, including Black Adam – saying the deal is ‘almost closed’.
Speaking about the work director Jaume Collet-Serra is doing, Garcia told CinemaBlend:
What we have in store with Black Adam and for the fans, I am so excited inside. Inside, I take pride as being a fan boy. I started as a fan boy before I became a producer, so I hold onto that DNA.
His vision for what we want to do with Black Adam is fantastic. So, that deal’s almost closed. He’s ready to go, and I think the fans are going to be really happy.
Well, looks like we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for this potential, exciting development.
Dwayne, if you just want to have a word with the producers of the next Superman movie, I’m all here for it.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).