The rise of social media has seen a rise in the number of so-called scoopers sharing inside information. Many of them have no more credibility than your average Reddit commenter, but then there are those with a solid track record.
@MyTimeToShineH (mostly) falls into the latter category, and whether you want to put that down to lucky guesses or legit sources, they've dropped more hits than misses in recent years.
This latest claim, though, is one we're struggling to believe. Then again, stranger things have happened!
Apparently, Black Adam star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is on Marvel Studios' radar to play En Sabah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse. We'd assume this is for the upcoming X-Men reboot, though it's possible he'd play a Variant of the villain in one of the upcoming Avengers movies seeing as many of the original X-Men are expected to appear.
Physically, Johnson certainly looks the part and could play a convincing Apocalypse who isn't brought to life with Thanos-style motion capture. He's also a huge star in desperate need of a win.
As we recently reported, The Rock's return to WWE is thought to be part of a plan to keep him relevant following a series of high-profile failures (Black Adam, Young Rock's cancellation, and the XFL's struggles). Now in his early 50s, Johnson seems eager to avoid the fate of other action stars who have gone from the A-List to direct-to-DVD fare.
Along with a WWE return, he's taken on a lead role in A24's The Smashing Machine and put his differences with Vin Diesel aside to return to the Fast franchise. Bouncing back with an MCU movie makes sense, even if it means not getting the same level of creative control he had on Black Adam.
Regardless, we'd advise taking this with a pinch of salt for now.
Apocalypse was created by writer Louise Simonson and artist Jackson Guice, first appearing in X-Factor #5 in 1986. The ancient mutant believes in the concept of "survival of the fittest," and his desire to bring about the evolution of mutantkind by any means necessary, often through destructive and genocidal methods.
He sees himself as a god-like figure and seeks to impose his vision of mutant supremacy upon the world and has assembled various groups of mutant followers, known as the "Four Horsemen," to serve his purposes. Oscar Isaac previously played the villain in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse.
Let us know your thoughts on this rumour in the comments section below.