The Rock Wants To Play Another Superhero. Why He May Have Precluded Himself Years Ago

Ahead of the release of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, the actor claimed the superhero movie would change the balance of power in the DC universe. But since the movie disappointed at the box office and earned poor reviews from critics, there are no guarantees The Rock will be back in action as the comic book character. So could he switch gears to Marvel? Johnson has had a longtime dream to play a specific character from the rival comic book publisher, but one alleged rule of his may make that difficult.

The Rock Has Been Vocal About Playing Luke Cage

Aside from The Rock’s long-standing passion to play Black Adam, which led to the 2022 movie, he has also been vocal before about wanting to play Luke Cage. Back in 2013, Johnson said he was “ready” to play the comic book hero on Twitter (now known as X). Additionally, The Rock apparently has a “great relationship” with Marvel boss Kevin Feige (per Collider).

Luke Cage was introduced to Marvel Comics in 1972 as a man who becomes imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit and then gets super strength and unbreakable skin after being part of a experimental scientific procedure. After no longer being behind bars, he becomes a street-level “hero for hire.”

How The Rock May Have Precluded Himself From Playing Luke Cage

Here’s the thing: back when Hobbs & Shaw was in theaters, a report came out that alleged that Johnson and his co-star Jason Statham had “no-lose” clauses baked into their Hollywood contracts. Per the 2019 report, Johnson specifically works alongside producers, editors and fight coordinators to “help make sure he always gives as good as he gets.”

While the “no-lose” clause could hold for a hero like Black Adam, as it pretty much did in the 2022 release, Luke Cage is a different story. Despite Luke’s powers making him nearly untouchable, the comic book hero is far from the most powerful being in the MCU. It would come off rather goofy if Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Cage became a character who just never took a beating.

The Future Of Luke Cage In The MCU

Luke Cage has been featured as one of the best Marvel TV shows we’ve seen. Luke Cage was a Netflix-produced series that was part of the streaming service’s former side of the comic book world that also involved Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, The Punisher and the 2017 team up miniseries The Defenders. The character was played by Mike Colter.

The MCU has recently started to revive this Marvel Netflix corner by bringing Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio back for recent Marvel shows, including the upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again. There's a good chance Colter could come back as Luke Cage before The Rock, especially since his Paramount+ series Evil is ending, but who knows! You can check out what upcoming Dwayne Johnson movies are definitely coming up here on CinemaBlend.