Who Will The Rock Play?

During a recent Twitter chat, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson finally confirmed what many bloggers, commentators and journalists have been speculating for months: that he has joined the burgeoning DC Comics cinematic universe. His tweets were both direct and cryptic, stating that his camp and DC have come to an agreement, but he played coy on exactly who that character was. What he did, however, was drop some clues: the character had never been played before, has a complex nature and is a "pure BAD ASS MF."

While Johnson's name had previously been mentioned for the roles of the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo, and before that as the villainous Black Adam, who menaces the hero alternately known as Captain Marvel or Shazam, recent speculation has connected him to playing the John Stewart version of Green Lantern (recall Ryan Reynolds as the Hal Jordan version of the character). Johnson, however, seemed to discount Stewart as the character:

So who is Johnson signed on to play? Here are a few possibilities:

Lobo

An obvious choice and a good fit for Johnson's talents. Lobo is brash and no-nonsense, but "complex" is not a word normally associated with the character. Lobo feels like a smokescreen, a Superman villain who would demand a healthy amount of screen time in a franchise that has already identified its main villains.

Black Adam/Shazam

At one point, Johnson was rumored to play both hero and villain in a Shazam film, and you'll notice in his tweet he didn't discount Black Adam, mentioning him as a favorite. Is this his subtle way of telling us without telling us?

Darkseid

An intriguing possibility. He's complex and he's certainly bad enough, but with the amount of prosthetics and CG enhancements, it seems it would be a waste of Johnson's talents...and his body. Darkseid's personality doesn't mesh all that well with Johnson's, either.

Martian Manhunter

Another interesting idea. J'onn J'onzz is another bad man who can stand toe to toe with many of DC's toughest, he's a complicated, sensitive character in many ways, and while he's been mentioned with DC seemingly leaning into Justice League territory, there has been no one really mentioned in the role. Still, Manhunter's stoic personality seems to be at odds with casting the explosively charismatic Johnson.

Aquaman

My dark-horse pick. Aquaman has flown under the radar cinematically, and while he's long been the laughingstock of the fanboy community, in the comics he's a terrific character who fits all of Johnson's needs: He can be engaging, charismatic and complex, but a tough dude. A few of the whinier purists may lament that a Johnson Aquaman wouldn't be blond and white, but really who gives a crap? The Rock would bring a legitimacy to Aquaman the character hasn't had for years.