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Do you smell what The Rock is cooking up? Dwayne Johnson recently set the industry abuzz by teasing that he’s working on a "badass" video game movie in an interview.
"I can’t tell you which game in particular we’re doing, but there will be an announcement this year," Johnson told Men’s Journal. "We’re going to bring one of the biggest, most badass games to the screen – one that I’ve played for years. I’m really excited to bring it to fans around the world. Of course we’re going to do right by our gamer friends – but really we’re just going to make a great movie."
Johnson already has previous experience in the video game space, starring in 2018’s Rampage – based on the classic Midway arcade franchise – and the ill-fated Doom movie. Which we don’t talk about.
So, what next? From FPS megahits to a certain Nintendo mascot, here are the seven video game adaptations we want to make the leap from consoles to cinema with The Rock at the helm.
Call of Duty
It’s a little hard to fathom, but we haven’t yet had a Call of Duty movie. It would be Johnson’s bread and butter, too: a small army’s worth of munitions, some action-heavy storytelling, and the sort of ice-cold, eyebrow-raising one-liners that only The Great One could pull off in the heat of the moment.
While we’re partial to Black Ops’ conspiracy-heavy campaigns, 2007’s Modern Warfare should be the blueprint for any Call of Duty movie. There’s a trilogy’s worth of memorable set-pieces – All Ghillied Up on the big screen, anyone? – gritty gunplay, and a certain Captain Price waiting in the wings as an able deputy for The Rock. Need we say more?
Fortnite
The Rock has already appeared in Fortnite courtesy of his arrival as The Foundation, the leader of The Seven. Without getting too deep into Fortnite lore, their battles against villainous group The Imagined Order could form the crux of a solid action movie with sci-fi spectacle – just as long as we get to stop off at iconic locales such as Tilted Towers or Retail Row.
Epic Games’ more recent shift into using Fortnite as a sandbox for the good and great of pop culture, though, adds an interesting wrinkle into the equation. The licensing would be a nightmare, sure, but imagine The Rock duking it out Ready Player One-style with Thanos or John Wick. Nerd heaven.
God of War
We’re so ready for The Rock to lay the smackdown on a pantheon of gods. While Santa Monica Studio’s deity-destroying franchise has found latter-day success in a more measured take on fatherhood amid the backdrop of Norse mythology, we’d lovee to see Johnson to go toe-to-toe with Mount Olympus’ finest.
Best known for its brutal, bloody dispatches of the likes of Hermes, Hades, and Zeus, the original God of War trilogy’s story could really help Johnson flex his action muscles – and literal muscles – with a tried-and-tested tale of revenge. TL;DR: God of War Ares tricked Kratos into killing his wife and kids. That sets Kratos down an angry, angry path – and he leaves a litany of broken gods in his wake. Box office gold, if you ask us.
Mass Effect
A certain Henry Cavill may disagree, but The Rock is just as well suited to taking on the Reaper threat and visiting his favorite store on the Citadel. BioWare’s sci-fi epic Mass Effect has long been linked with adaptations on both the big and small screen, though Johnson always shines as part of teams crackling with charisma and energy.
The Rock leading suicide missions, dealing with the Geth problem, and getting freaky on the Normandy with [insert your own Mass Effect romance choice here] and a good time will be had by all.
Gears of War
Dave Bautista has been linked to a turn as Gears of War lead Marcus Fenix. If that doesn’t come to pass, Dwayne Johnson might be the man to fight back against the locust invasion on the planet of Sera.
Despite featuring chainsaw gun-wielding protagonists with necks the size of redwoods, Gears of War often uses its grim canvas to paint a morally gray story. If The Rock wants to blend his own inimitable brand of action hero with some meaty story hooks, then he should get his hands on a Hammer of Dawn, pronto.
Forza Horizon
The Rock and Vin Diesel’s simmering public feud seemingly won’t die down. With a Fast and Furious return off the table, Johnson could pull a U-turn and start building his own pedal-to-the-metal franchise.
While there’s no guarantee of leaving Diesel’s billion-dollar baby in the dust, Playground Games’ open-world racer could be the perfect foundation for an action series. Turn The Rock into the Horizon Festival’s head honcho who’s out recruiting drivers, all while fending off an evil CEO who wants to turn the celebration of all things motorsport into NFTs. Or something. Let the Hollywood scriptwriters figure it out.
Kirby
In the immortal words of Dwayne Johnson in the song “Face Off”: “It’s about drive/It’s about power/We stay hungry/We devour.” Words to live by? Yes. But The Rock merely adopted the need to devour. Cutesy Nintendo mascot Kirby was born in it, molded by it.
But The Rock as Kirby? Now we’re talking. It’s no weirder than Chris Pratt as Mario, and we can already picture The Great One bouncing around Dream Land, gulping down enemies and hoovering up his nemesis, King Dedede. Call me, Miyamoto.
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