Dwayne Johnson Doing A Horror Movie
Dwayne Johnson is setting his sights on the horror genre.
This article is more than 2 years old
Is Dwayne Johnson in talks with Universal to star in an upcoming horror movie? Could the project be part of their relaunch of the Dark Universe? Insider Daniel Richtman has told his Patreon that while he doesn’t yet know the specifics of what project, conversations around an unnamed horror movie are happening.
In recent decades, Universal has struggled to relaunch their monster movies with little success. That changed in early 2020 with The Invisible Man. Now, the studio is looking for where they can take the franchise next. A movie with The Rock would make sense as part of their plans. After all, four years ago, Dwayne Johnson was in talks with Universal for a Wolfman movie. While that project is now in the works with Ryan Gosling, there’s plenty of room in the Dark Universe for Johnson to make something great.
The Rock Loves Franchises
Dwayne Johnson saving franchises has become a bit of a joke over the last decade. It just continues to be more true. In 2015, he hosted Saturday Night Live for the fourth time. His monologue song, Franchise Viagra, could be a theme for his career. It must help stick in the minds of executives who need to revive their franchises. So far, some of the franchises we’ve seen Dwayne Johnson working hard in include Fast & Furious, G.I. Joe, and The Mummy. He’s set to join the DC Extended Universe as Black Adam, and there are strong rumors he may also find a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Dark Universe was Hollywood’s very first shared story universe. It started during the silent film era and grew during the 1920s to the 1950s. This is the universe that brought us the iconic characters Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, The Wolfman, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Invisible Man. While today’s audiences are perhaps less familiar with the classic movies that brought these characters to life, most people know who Dracula is. With Dwayne Johnson finding time to take part in so many franchises, why wouldn’t he want to be part of the story universe that started it all?
Mostly, Universal’s attempts to revitalize interest in the Dark Universe have been met with failure. While Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy was great, Universal has brought us flops like Van Helsing, Dracula Untold, Tom Cruise’s The Mummy, and Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman. It’s been disappointing, to say the least. It’s no wonder Dwayne Johnson wound up avoiding The Wolfman reboot four years ago.
But now, we’re fresh off the heels of 2020’s The Invisible Man. Today’s audiences may not have altogether associated the horror-thriller with the Dark Universe. After all, the movie was a far cry from something we could tie to Bobby Pickett’s classic song “Monster Mash“. It was a psychological horror story that’s made it onto many of the year’s best movie lists. It was serious and relevant to the world today. Instead of focusing on The Invisible Man lore, it focused on the story it wanted to tell. As Universal gets to work trying to replicate this success, it will be interesting to see what they’ve learned from this quiet film’s success.
What Monster Dwayne Johnson Could Play
Keep in mind that Daniel Richtman’s sources have only said that Dwayne Johnson is in talks with Universal and that it’s about a horror movie. The leap to deciding these conversations could be part of Universal’s efforts to reboot the Dark Universe should be taken with a grain of salt. However, he does love franchises, he’s talked to them before, and there is a high likelihood of it being awesome if he did. So, assuming that happens, what iconic classic monster do they want The Rock to play?
As a fan of the classic Universal Monster movies, this question is exciting. What movie is Dwayne Johnson talking to them about? It’s not The Wolfman, since Ryan Gosling is on that. The Rock seems a bit beefy for Dracula. Would he be a fun Frankenstein’s monster? Could he be a tortured Phantom of the Opera? The Rock doesn’t seem like an actor who’d be afraid to take on a lot of scars.
If the talks work out, we’re likely a long way off seeing this come to the screen. Dwayne Johnson has one of the fullest schedules out there. He’s not only an actor, he’s a Dad, a producer, and a new owner of a tequila business. Still, he continues adding to his schedule, so we’ll have to watch and wait to see what he’s up to next.
