You’d be hard-pressed to find a badass character that Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) can’t play. He’ll be seen as Roadblock in the upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation, he’s been circling the role of Goliath in the aptly named Goliath, and now Variety reports that Johnson is in talks to star as the one and only Hercules. We first learned that Brett Ratner (Tower Heist) was circling Hercules back in 2010, but now it appears attached himself to the project for MGM. The film is an adaptation of Steve Moore’s graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars with a script by Ryan Condal (Paradise Lost). Hit the jump for more.
The Thracian Wars is a pretty dark take on the character, as it paints Hercules as a mercenary who turned his back on the gods following the loss of his family, “finding solace only in battle.” He joins up with six other men who are similarly bloodthirsty, and the band of warriors are hired by the King of Thrace to train his men into warriors. I’m not entirely sure I see Ratner making a film this dark, and I’m sure the script will make some changes to the source material. After all, X-Men: The Last Stand and the Rush Hour films weren’t exactly gritty.
Nevertheless, Johnson is a great choice to play Hercules as this type of warrior. He can do badass like nobody’s business and his unending charm gives his characters wide appeal. He’s next set to star in Michael Bay’s crime comedy Pain and Gain with Mark Wahlberg, followed by another entry in the Fast and Furious franchise. No timetable is given for Hercules, but I’m assuming it’s a high profile project for Ratner and MGM. Read a full synopsis for Hercules: The Tracian Wars below, followed by a gem from Disney's super swell 1997 iteration of Hercules:
Nearly 3,200 years ago, a tormented soul walked the Earth as neither man nor god: Hercules, powerful son of the god-king Zeus, and for this he received nothing but suffering. After 12 arduous labors and the loss of his family, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods, finding solace only in bloody battle. Over the years, he warmed to the company of six similar souls, bonded by their love of fighting and the presence of death never questioning where they go or who they fight, just how much they will be paid. Now the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to turn his men into the greatest army of all time, which means training them to be as bloodthirsty and ruthless as their own reputation. It is time for this band of lost souls to finally have their eyes opened to how far they have fallen and the narrow, perilous path to their own redemption. [Amazon]