The Rock will start filming the big budget comic-book adaptation/war film Hercules: The Thracian Wars this summer for a July 25th 2014 release date. The movie is based on the graphic novel by graphic novel by Steve Moore and Cris Bolsin of the same name and is said to be a brutal account of the wars Hercules participated in. The film reportedly has a budget of 110 Million Dollars and is being Directed by Bret Ratner. This will be Dwayne Johnson biggest leading role to date.
While promoting Pain & Gain, he recently spoke to Inquirer Entertainment about the movie.
On his Dream Role:
“‘Hercules’ is something that I have been chasing and developing for over a decade. When I first got into Hollywood, one of my first thoughts was, where is ‘Hercules’ and who’s doing it? I was in a different position at that time than I am today. But I always had ‘Hercules’ in the back of my mind. My onscreen heroes are Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Hercules. Hercules is essentially the world’s first superhero.”
On the movie's take on the Hercules mythology:
“I respect the mythology of Hercules to such a great deal,” said the son of an African-American wrestler Rocky Johnson and Samoan Ata Johnson. “What’s so exciting is when you’re making a film that has a foundation in a beloved mythology. We all felt that if we were going to make ‘Hercules,’ [we should] make the definitive version that would stand the test of time. Hopefully it will be the basis by which similar movies like these are going to be measured, and we could raise the bar. We’ll make it darker. We’re very familiar with Hercules and his labors. We’ll do some really interesting things. We have a phenomenal writer, a Greek (Evan Spiliotopoulos), who came on board. He’s deeply connected to the mythology of Hercules.”
On the rival Hercules project, Hercules 3 D, directed by Renny Harlin and starring Kellan Lutz as Hercules
“I wish those guys the best of luck with their movie. We’ll make ours and the audience will decide. There’s room [for both movies].”
On wanting to be more cut more than big for Hercules via Access Hollywood
It is not about getting big as much as it is about having really lean, dense muscle. Because anybody can get just big. You see actors and athletes out there, they just get big but there's also a difference between getting big and having really defined, deeply grainy muscle. And that only comes, by the way, with muscle maturity.
You can watch him talk about his workout routine and diet in detail in the video below. You can also head over to Inquirer Entertainment to read more about what he has to say about Hercules: The Thracian Wars.
Hercules: The Thracian Wars releases domestically on 25th July 2014.