Dwayne Johnson has revealed that he's developing a movie based on "one of the biggest, baddest games" ever, and yes, we hope it's not Doom II, too.
During a chat with Men's Journal for Black Adam, the next DCEU movie he'll star in later this year, Johnson was asked if he's planning any movie adaptations of popular games.
Surprisingly, Johnson revealed that he did, briefly explaining his love for the Madden game series before exclusively revealing that an announcement about a new video game movie is coming very soon.
"I can't tell you what particular game we're making, but there will be an announcement this year," Johnson said. "We're going to bring one of the biggest, baddest games I've played for years to the screen. I'm so excited to bring it to fans around the world. Of course, we're going to do it right alongside our gamer friends, But really, we're going to make a great movie."
No word yet on whether Johnson will bring the film to the big screen or partner with a streaming giant. Most recently, Johnson starred in Red Notice, which released 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 should land on the streamer in late XNUMX. of this year. .
Analysis: Which game series could Johnson bring to the big screen?
Given the sheer number of major game franchises, it's difficult, at least initially, to determine what Johnson is referring to. But, and this is just speculation on our part, there are several favorites.
Let's get rid of the elephant in the room: Madden. Yes, Johnson, or The Rock as he's also known, mentioned it by name in his Men's Journal interview, and he clearly loves it, telling Slice of Sci-Fi in 2006 that his favorite game of all time it's Madden 93. Unless a Madden film adaptation is a biopic about the late John Madden with Johnson in a supporting role, an unlikely outcome, given his current stardom, however, we can point to this one.
Doom is another series of games that we don't get to see Johnson touch. After all, The Rock starred in the much-reviewed 2006 film adaptation of ID Software's iconic FPS franchise. Unless he feels he has unfinished business in this universe, we don't think he'll fight his way through the demon hordes again.
Gears of War is another option, and given his envious physique, Johnson would fit right in with the oversized soldiers in that series. Throw in Dave Bautista as Marcus Fenix, someone Bautista has regularly expressed a desire to play, and we could see that happen.
And what about Quake, another beloved identification title? According to We Got This Covered, Johnson's Red Notice star Ryan Reynolds was looking to develop a live-action Quake movie. Could he team up with Johnson again to make that happen? Never say Never.
But there are two obvious choices that a) would be a perfect fit for Johnson, and b) are definitely "one of the biggest, badass game series" right now: Fortnite and Call of Duty.
The latter certainly has potential. Again, The Rock has the physical framework to pull off any number of stunts in a potential Call of Duty movie. And the franchise has become so over-the-top, action-wise, that it would be on par with other too-great action movies The Rock has starred in recently.
Still, we can't look past Fortnite. Johnson previously appeared in the game as The Foundation, the founder and leader of the Seven after the wild ending of Fortnite Chapter Two. Meanwhile, Epic Games' multiplayer title remains arguably the biggest game series in the world.
Putting The Rock in a movie adaptation of Fortnite where he plays a live-action incarnation of The Foundation would be a surefire hit. It would appeal to Fortnite fans, fans of The Rock, and intrigued moviegoers to watch it. And, if it did make it to theaters, you know it would generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the studio that financed it.
So let's see what Johnson announces later this year.