After a decade-long quest, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is finally a fully-flung movie star: he’s helped elevate sequels in the "Fast & Furious," "Journey" and "G.I. Joe" franchises to be significantly more successful than their predecessors. But so far, the actor’s standalone actioners haven’t had the same level of success, with movies like "Faster" and "Snitch" disappointing, and "Empire State" failing to even get a theatrical release.
But studios are betting on him more than ever: next year, he’ll headline earthquake disaster tentpole "San Andreas," but first up, he’s got a prime summer slot for solo swords-and-sandals picture "Hercules." Directed by Brett Ratner (natch), the film sees Johnson embrace his destiny and play the legendary Greek hero of the title.
Co-starring Rufus Sewell, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Joseph Fiennes, Rebecca Ferguson, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Joe Anderson, Peter Mullan and Askel Hennie, the film’s finally hitting theaters next week, and to gear up, Paramount have released a bunch of new images, a featurette and a TV spot for the film. The featurette is the pick of the bunch, focusing on the supporting cast and their unique fighting styles, and we’ll say this: the action does look satisfyingly crunchy. But then again, the studio are reportedly keeping this from critics until the last possible minute, so maybe don’t get your hopes up too high. The film opens next Friday, July 25th.
