Dwayne Johnson Confirms He's Playing 'Weirdo' Pre-Superhero Doc Savage

In an Instagram post, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson sounds really excited to play Doc Savage, the character who inspired Superman.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Add another movie onto the pile of upcoming releases for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The actor took to (his amazingly entertaining) Instagram account to confirm he will play Doc Savage in the upcoming movie directed by Shane Black, of Lethal Weapon and The Nice Guys fame.

Johnson posted a picture of himself hanging out with Black and some of the writers on the movie during a meeting over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Who is Doc Savage, you're asking? He's a pulp magazine character created in the 1930s who was sort of an evil-fighting superhero before there were superheroes. Later on, he appeared in some comic books, and was the basis for dozens of novels.

While Clark "Doc" Savage didn't have any supernatural powers or a costume (other than almost always sporting a super-manly-looking ripped button-down shirt), he was raised from birth by his father and his father's scientist friends to excel in every area. So the guy is like Sherlock Holmes smart, but has the physical prowess of, well, Dwayne Johnson. He's also got the ethics of an Eagle Scout and had a "fortress of solitude" years before Superman did.

The best part, though, according to Johnson, is that, "he's a fucking hilarious weirdo," with "zero social graces whatsoever due to his upbringing so every interaction he has with someone is direct, odd, often uncomfortable, and amazingly hilarious."

Black had not made it a secret that he wanted Johnson for the role. Back in March he said in an interview, "I would very much like to do Doc with a fellow named Dwayne Johnson if we can make that work. I made a decision that Dwayne is the guy. It’s on the back burner while he’s busy.”

And he is really, really busy. Johnson has at least 10 other movies that are finished and waiting for release, currently filming, or have been announced. Those movies include San Andreas 2, Central Intelligence, Fast 8, Baywatch and Shazam!

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