Another week, another rumor for Universal’s recently-announced monster movie series “Dark Universe”. It’s no secret that Universal has been going after A-list actors to bring their monsters to life, with Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe leading the charge as two of the stars of The Mummy (playing Nick Morton and Dr. Jekyll, respectively). Javier Bardem has also been cast as the Frankenstein Monster in the recently announced Bill Condon-directed Bride of Frankenstein, and Johnny Depp rounds out the list of confirmed stars as The Invisible Man in an as-yet-unannounced feature.
It has long been rumored that Universal is very much interested in Angelina Jolie to play the title role in Bride of Frankenstein, but just recently, another rumor has been making the rounds suggesting that Universal is sparing no expense in an attempt to land Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the role of Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman, the part made famous by Lon Chaney Jr. in the 1941 original film The Wolf Man. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Johnson has proven to be a real draw for movie-going audiences, having found success throughout multiple genres and franchises. He’s been an action hero, a dramatic actor, and a great comedian, so why not try his hand at horror? In fact, let us not forget that before he was revitalizing the Fast and the Furious series, and back when the public knew him simply as “The Rock”, Johnson experienced his first real foray into acting in motion pictures playing The Scorpion King in 2001’s The Mummy Returns. Perhaps things are coming around full circle and the prodigal son is returning home to the universe – or Dark Universe – that helped make Dwayne Johnson a household name beyond the wrestling ring.
What do you think about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson possibly stepping into the furry paws of Lon Chaney Jr.? Will this be a welcome back to the universe that helped launch his acting career? If so, let us just hope the makeup looks a tad better than this:
-Freddy
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