Why Dwayne Johnson would make a great Superman

Yes, I'm well aware that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been attached to DC Comics for a very long time. At one point he was ready to play Lobo in Guy Ritchie's take on the character. That would've been a perfect fit for him as well as put him in an awesome Sci-Fi movie. Then there was the news about him playing Black Adam some years back for a Shazam movie. Whether it was proven true or not doesn't matter now since apparently Warner Bros. announced they are definitely making a Shazam movie sometime after Zack Snyder's Justice League gets released. Whether or not he will be playing Black Adam or perhaps the titular Shazam (aka Captain Marvel) remains to be seen as well. All that is known is that he is playing a huge part in the DC Cinematic line. A part that he claims has never been seen before and is definitely on par and/or stronger than Superman. That's a big claim. However, in a weird way, that quote got me thinking. What if Dwayne Johnson played Superman? What would that be like? Would it work? Is that a bad idea? Well... in my strange little world where any movie is possible... yes.

I know what the immediate problem would be if someone were to have cast him in Man of Steel or hell any Superman movie. "HE'S NOT WHITE!" That is what the general consensus would be. And to be fair, that is true. He isn't. He's half black and half Samoan. Though at first glance his ethnicity is pretty hard to pin down, one can assume he's one or the other. Skin tone wise, he would automatically not be considered a contender for Superman. Me personally, I don't see that as quite fair. Granted, the character's known ethnicity is that of a white man, but let's be clear about something. Superman aka Kal-El is an ALIEN from Krypton. An ALIEN. In other words, Superman could've looked like anything but he just happens to look like a white man and get picked up by an elderly white couple. So in a sense, anyone can play a man from another planet who gets adopted by earthly parents at a young age. And what are the chances that all the Aliens on the planet of Krypton are white? Oh yeah, and by the way, look at Marvel's Nick Fury in the films. He's not suppose to be black. That's an alternate version of Fury that they used in the films. So, that sort of takes care of that one obstacle that would get in the way.

Johnson has shown that he can play ruthless and calculating. Just look at his earliest and current roles. The Scorpion King and Agent Hobbs come to mind of what this guy can do if you ask him to be a warrior. Then there's also the middle part of his career when he was doing more family friendly films. During that run he's shown a softer side and very capable of being charming. I mean come on that is a million watt smile he's got. The type of charm and charisma Superman would need. Plus, he's one of the few wrestlers turned actors who actually developed a good screen presence. Is he the greatest actor in the world? Not really. Can he act? Yes he can. The guy is capable of showing different sides and does have a diverse range. Don't believe me? He played a gay man trying to become an actor in some John Travolta film. I don't remember the name of the film but I remember him because he was awesome in it. So clearly this guy can switch back and forth between being the big blue boy scout and the angry god that Superman is known to be.

And if we got to talk about muscle mass...you're kidding right? Henry Cavill is the first actor to play Superman who actually has the body to match the name. But if we're talking about a muscle mass that matches what he is usually drawn as in the comics then it would take a lot longer for Cavill to reach that point. That's where you enter The Rock! The guy is huge. If you don't believe me something is wrong with your eyes. He was huge during his wrestling years but in his film Hercules he has gotten ridiculously huge. The body definitely matches the mythical figure and that's what Superman is: a modern myth. He has always been drawn to be larger than life to the point where when you look at him you automatically know he's stronger than you. I think many people get that feeling if they were looking back at Johnson. He's got the superhero body type down for a long time and even more so now.  It would match up with Superman's muscle mass perfectly. Especially if it resembles Jim Lee's work on Superman. And don't talk about he doesn't have the hair! The guy can grow that! He doesn't have electric blue eyes? Contact lenses!

However, I know no matter what I say here it will never happen. I know I should say "never say never." But with Cavill as Superman now (and I have no problem with that) and Johnson being lined up to play some currently unidentified DC hero/villain, the chances of this happening in the future are nonexistent. It would be nice for a change to see someone of a different Ethnicity take on the big blue boy scout. Hell, I'd love to cast my half white and half vietnamese friend as Superman. But I know that's not the kind of world we live in. Perhaps someday it would be fine. And perhaps somewhere in an alternate universe, Dwayne Johnson is playing Superman. It's just not in this universe.

But really this would be cool to watch if Dwayne Johnson was playing him. Or even Zod.