Shane Black & Dwayne Johnson On Deck For Doc

If movie news is reported, and it didn’t come from Dwayne Johnson’s Instagram account, is it truly news?

These are the philosophical questions that plague us in this day and age, but luckily we can sidestep that when it comes to a big-screen adaptation of pulp superhero Doc Savage.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced today that he spent the Memorial Day weekend breaking the story for the adaptation with writers Anthony Bagarozzi & Chuck Mondry and writer/director Shane Black.

Doc Savage is a pulp icon, similar to The Phantom and The Shadow, and one of the earliest superheroes. Born and raised to be a peak human specimen by his father and a team of scientists, Clark “Doc” Savage is a genius, athlete, adventurer, surgeon and basically anything else you want to call him.

“He is literally the master of everything,” Johnson said on Instagram.

“Comic book fans around the world know that the cool thing about ‘Doc’ Savage is that he’s the inspiration for Superman,” Johnson said, going on to mention the similar Arctic retreats, both characters being named “Clark” and the “Man of Bronze”/”Man of Steel” connection.

One thing Savage has that Superman doesn’t? “HE’S A F*CKING WEIRDO!” Johnson said.

Which is almost certainly one of the reasons Shane Black has been trying for years to get an adaptation off the ground. Black revels in weirdos and oddballs, as evident in Lethal Weapon, The Nice Guys or basically every other movie he’s written.

Shane Black told Collider in 2013 that “Doc Savage had the abilities of a fighting machine but truly the soul of a pacifist.  He always tempered his violent skills with kindness and a social conscience, preferring never to take human life.” Presumably his take — which, he also mentioned, will take place in the 1930s — will involve with Johnson’s input. But reading that makes it sound very much like a character Johnson could bring to life with ease.

Black has mentioned before that he pictures Johnson as Doc Savage and was holding on until the actor’s schedule cleared up. Thankfully these two top talents were able to finally get together.

Keep an eye on Johnson’s Instagram for all your Rock-related movie news.