Lucasfilm May Be Considering Dwayne Johnson For Next Star Wars Role

While there is debate on whether or not Star Wars fatigue is a real thing (we don't want another movie, but we're counting down the days until more Baby Yoda), Lucasfilm and Disney are still doing everything that they can to milk every single unit of every currency known to man out of the franchise, and will likely do so until the heat death of the universe. With the next film not set to come out until 2025 (if there is a 2025), we have plenty of time to speculate on exactly what we are getting. Fans are looking forward to seeing the upcoming Obi-Wan TV series, and it's almost certain that we'll have more Mandalorian by then, even if the Baby Yoda arc ends. Until then, all we have are speculation and rumors.

One of the biggest rumors that has come out lately is that the megastar and highest paid actor in the world Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is going to be in an upcoming project, possibly the aforementioned 2025 movie. This would be interesting for several reasons. First, Mr. Dwayne is known more for his role in the hugely popular action series The Fast and the Furious. He has had forays into the sci-fi genre before (usually not for the best), but this would be the first time that Mr. The Rock has dipped his toes into a sci-fi series of this scale.

Now, obviously Mr. Johnson has worked with Disney before, playing a character in the Oscar winning animated film Moana. He has shown that he is a more than capable actor on several film projects. He has been one of the people who have made the successful leap from wrestling into acting. On the other hand, his stardom could work against him. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood right now, and that could break the immersion for the audience. That is not to say that Star Wars has not had recognizable actors in its film before, such as the Academy Award-winning Sir Alec Guinness, but for the most part, the large roles go to people without a lot of star power. The Bridge on the River Kwai didn't make a billion dollars. Several of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's films have.

The characters, especially the main ones, work so well because we don't look at them and see Harrison Ford or Carrie Fischer. We see Han Solo and Princess Leia because, back in 1977, the biggest role any of them had was essentially a cameo Harrison Ford did for American Graffiti in 1974. Other than Alec Guinness, the only other person easily recognized was Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin, due to his Hammer films. With Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, we do have that problem. It'll be harder to see the character of Wembley Bongerblah (or whatever Star Wars-y name you want to give him) if you look at him right away and go, "Oh, that's The Rock."

Now, this is all naturally speculation of the highest order. As stated above, the next Star Wars movie isn't slated for another few years, though obviously that could change one way or the other for any number of reasons. There are also rumors that Taika Waititi could be in the director's chair for the project that Dwayne is involved in, and at this point, there's no reason not to trust him to turn in something awesome. Maybe The Rock will go the Simon Pegg or Daniel Craig route of being in the movie but either in armor or the voice behind a CGI monster. Either way, we'll have to wait and see. Rumors are all we have. In the meantime, season two of The Mandalorian is on its way!

Written By Tommy Durbin

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