Dwayne Johnson to Play Superman Precursor for Shane Black

Dwayne Johnson to play the comic book character that inspired Superman

While Superman may seem like a one-of-a-kind superhero, the Man of Steel is actually based off a lesser-known comic book character named Doc Savage. Trained from birth to become the perfect human specimen, Savage made his first print appearance in a pulp magazine circa 1933 and his first silver-screen appearance in the forgettable 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. According to ScreenCrush, however, the character will soon be back in a big way.

See here to stream Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze on Amazon Video

A couple of weeks ago, Dwayne Johnson let his fans know via Instagram that he was poring over an “outline for a cool movie” that he planned on making with Nice Guys director Shane Black. Since Black has long been working on a Doc Savage adaptation — and has made no bones about Johnson being his top choice for the titular role — speculation grew regarding the man formerly known as The Rock being cast as the so-called “Man of Bronze.”

On Monday, Johnson confirmed suspicions with the post below, in which he reveals a bit of backstory on the character, expresses his excitement, and uses the hashtag #ItsOfficial.

It’s OFFICIAL: For all comic book fans you already know the world’s first superhero (pre-dating Superman) is the “Man of Bronze” himself Clark “Doc” Savage. Want to thank my bud director/writer Shane Black and his writing team Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry for flying in from LA and sitting with me and our @sevenbucksprod’s producer @hhgarcia41 on this Memorial Day weekend to chop up creative and break story on this very cool project. Comic book fans around the world know that the cool thing about “Doc” Savage is that he’s the inspiration for Superman. First name Clark, called “Man of Bronze”, retreats to his “Fortress of Solitude” in the Arctic etc etc. Doc was physically and mentally trained from birth by his father and a team of scientists to become the perfect human specimen with a genius level intellect. His heightened senses are beyond comprehension. He can even identify a women’s perfume from half a mile away. He is literally the master of everything. But here’s the #1 reason I’m excited to become Doc Savage.. HE’S A F*CKING HILARIOUS WEIRDO! Confidently, yet innocently he has zero social graces whatsoever due to his upbringing so every interaction he has with someone is direct, odd, often uncomfortable and amazingly hilarious. After speaking for hours w/ Shane Black I can see why the creator of Superman took only the best parts of Doc Savage and leaving the “weirdo” part behind. But to us, it’s that “weirdo” part that makes Clark “Doc” Savage dope! Can’t wait to sink my teeth into this one of a kind character. #ItsOfficial #WorldsFirstSuperhero #GeniusIntellect #PhysicalSpecimen #FnLoveableWeirdo #ManOfBronze #DocSavage

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on May 30, 2016 at 5:53am PDT

It should be fun to see Johnson straying a bit from the archetypal action hero role to take on Savage, as the character’s innate weirdness stamps him as unique. As for Black, the director’s offbeat sense of humor seems tailor-made for this particular adaptation and has us excited for the finished product.

The mystery here is just how the busiest man in Hollywood will fit this one in. According to IMDB, Johnson has six upcoming projects that are listed as “announced,” two listed as “filming,” one in pre-production, one in post-production, and one that recently wrapped. Oh, and that’s not counting the recently announced Skyscraper.

Sleep is overrated anyway.

No word yet on when this film will hit theaters, or on who will star alongside Johnson, but we’ll keep you updated as news breaks. In the meantime, you can catch him in Central Intelligence, which also stars Kevin Hart and Aaron Paul. That film hits theaters June 17.

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