Dwayne Johnson and the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem like a natural fit for each other, and
yet, the Rock has yet to appear in an MCU movie.
So what gives?
Although it may seem strange that the hottest star in Hollywood hasn’t starred in a Marvel
movie, there are few reasons that could explain why.
In 2014, it was announced that Dwayne Johnson would be joining the DCEU, portraying the
villainous Black Adam in a Shazam movie.
Many were surprised that the Rock was playing a bad guy rather than a superhero, with the
assumption being that the larger-than-life actor would prefer to be the star of his own
DCEU film.
Those predictions ultimately proved correct.
If you've seen Shazam!, which was released in April 2019, then you know Johnson isn't
in it.
That's because, after meeting with DC brass in 2017 to discuss his role, it was announced
that Black Adam was getting his own solo movie.
The film has no release date yet, but it's still very much in the works, and it's expected
to start filming in 2020.
The fact that Johnson will be headlining a DCEU movie greatly reduces his chances of
doing the same for Marvel, because, well, it's pretty rare for actors to star in films
for both franchises.
And when they do, it's generally as side characters moving from one franchise to another in a
bigger role; remember when Shazam's Zachary Levi played Fandral in two out of three Thor
films?
We've yet to see a lead actor switch teams, but here's hoping Johnson might be the first.
The Rock likes to refer to himself as the hardest worker in the room, and it's not just
a catchphrase.
The guy works all the time.
Take a look at his Instagram feed, which he updates constantly, and you'll see he's always
either shooting a movie or doing press for a movie.
The man just moves from one project to the next non-stop.
In 2018, he starred in two blockbusters with Rampage and Skyscraper.
In 2019, he headlined Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and Jumanji: The Next Level,
while also appearing in Fighting with my Family, whose production he spearheaded.
"What are your names again?"
"My name— "
"It doesn't matter what your names are!
You walk around here interrupting The Rock, you, like you haven't seen the sun in twenty
years.
You, like you just stepped out of Oliver Twist!"
Next year, Johnson's got Disney's Jungle Cruise and action comedy Red Notice, co-starring
his DCEU stablemate Gal Gadot.
He also stars on HBO's Ballers, hosts a reality competition he created called The Titan Games
on NBC, and has quite a few films in various stages of production.
Plus, he's active as a producer on multiple movies, he's working on releasing a tequila,
and he's helping design products for his Project Rock collaboration with Under Armour.
Plus, he's working out like a beast and raising a family.
2016's People's Sexiest Man Alive is Busy with a capital "B," and chances are good that
he simply hasn't had the time to work a Marvel movie into his crazy schedule yet.
Some actors just look tailor-made for their roles.
Has there ever been a more James Bond-looking James Bond than Pierce Brosnan?
Can you think of a more appropriate man to play the Mountain on Game of Thrones than
actual World's Strongest Man Thor Bjornsson?
And when it comes to superheroes, who's more qualified to play one than real life superhuman
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?
The Rock has a physique that looks like it was drawn by Rob Liefeld, so it seems like
a no-brainer that he should find himself a spot in the MCU.
The only problem is, Marvel prefers to go with the unexpected when it comes to their
superhero casting.
When the studio needed to cast Star-Lord, the suave leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy,
they didn't go out and get Chris Pine or James Marsden.
They went with Chris Pratt, who at the time was best known as a somewhat schlubby sitcom
actor.
They also went with funnyman Paul Rudd for Ant-Man, relative unknowns Chris Hemsworth
and Tom Hiddleston for Thor and Loki, respectively, and they cast the supposedly washed-up, over-the-hill,
and problematic Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, the guy who ended up leading the entire
franchise.
And although Marvel sometimes does what's expected, the studio may think that casting
the Rock as a superhero is a little too on the nose for their brand.
As his level of stardom has grown over the last handful of years, so has the Rock's level
of influence in Hollywood.
Seven Bucks Productions, the studio Johnson founded with his ex-wife Dany Garcia in 2012,
has produced every single movie the actor has starred in since 2017's Baywatch.
Not only that, but Johnson wields a considerable amount of power over those films.
He's very cautious about maintaining his image, and he's known to be pretty inflexible when
it comes to certain aspects of his films.
For example, he forced a change to the ending of Rampage so the gorilla wouldn't die at
the end.
Plus, he broke away from his role in the Fast and Furious franchise to lead his own spinoff,
Hobbs & Shaw.
"One!
Two!
Three!"
"No one tells me what to do!"
Johnson has shown that he likes to be in control of his films, and if there's one studio that's
not known for giving up control, it's Marvel.
With the exception of the Spider-Man movies, which are produced in coordination with Sony
Pictures since they own the film rights to the character, Marvel Studios doesn't share
production credit with any other studio.
The studio's president, Kevin Feige, has the final say on everything in the MCU, and Johnson
may not be willing to cede the control he's become accustomed to just for a spot in a
Marvel movie.
In spite of all the factors working against the Rock joining the MCU, it still seems like
there may be something going on between them that we just don't know about yet.
At the 2019 MTV Movie Awards, Avengers: Endgame director Anthony Russo joked that Johnson
should join the MCU…as himself.
But the most compelling piece of evidence comes in the form of a throwaway line Johnson
included in a congratulatory message he shared to Instagram to celebrate Endgame's box office
success.
The Rock gushes about Marvel in his three-minute video, showing nothing but love for the studio
and name-dropping a lot of people integral to its success including Nebula actress and
his, quote, "Jumanji partner in crime, Karen Gillan."
But the biggest name drop had to be Kevin Feige, the head honcho at Marvel Studios.
"Congrats, and I know our assistants have been trying to get us together for dinner
for months now.
We're both super busy boys, and I look forward to our schedule linking up."
Can you smell what the Rock is cooking there?
If we had to guess what these two busy boys would talk about over dinner, first on the
agenda would have to be the prospect of Johnson joining Team Marvel.
Just because the Rock hasn't appeared in the MCU yet doesn't mean he's not going to eventually.
After all, someone's going to have to play the Thing when Fantastic Four inevitably gets
rebooted.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.