Universal Pictures Reportedly Wants Dwayne Johnson For THE WOLF MAN
With stars like Tom Cruise in The Mummy and Johnny Depp in The Invisible Man, Universal Pictures is obviously trying to get the biggest stars possible to be a part of their upcoming slate of monster movies.
In a recent article from Deadline regarding Dwayne Johnson producing a film project based on the graphic novel Son Of Shaolin, they mention that the actor is also wanted by Universal to take on the lead role in the revamp of The Wolf Man.
Nothing has been confirmed at this point, but it makes complete sense that they would want Johnson to take on the role of the Wolf Man in the movie. He has such a strong on-screen presence and he's extremely marketable. The actor is so busy with so many other projects, though, that there's a chance he might not be able to do it even if they asked him. It's not hard to believe that the studio has at least had a discussion with him about it.
As much as I enjoy watching Johnson do his thing in the movies he makes, I'm not sure if he is actually the right fit for the Wolf Man. Can he carry and portray a vulnerable man with the heavy weight of a tortured soul who is burdened with the nightmarish curse of turning into a werewolf that is destroying his soul? Johnson is like a freakin' super human and if he does take on this role, it might be one of the deepest and most intense roles he's ever had to play.
At least, that's how the Wolf Man should be portrayed. Who knows, though — maybe the studio's plan is just to make the Wolf Man a superhero-type character that swoops in to save people. Maybe their version won't have that dark tortured soul aspect of the character. In that case, Johnson would be a fun choice.
There's no director attached to the film yet, but it has a release date of April 13, 2018.