Being the current representative of the Hollywood action hero community, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has always stayed an arm’s length away from the villainous WWE persona that gave him his first taste of recognition and fame. But after a lengthy sabbatical and a worse-for-wear stretch in Hollywood, his eventual return to the ring was perhaps inevitable, and as such, one of the lesser brow-raising points of his career.
What did however seduce an already fascinated audience was the former People’s Champion’s resurrection as a heel, his readiness to brutality, and the sheer perverse enjoyment that he has (seemingly) derived from it. The Rock’s new persona, if not anything else, only proves how severely Hollywood messed up by exiling his evil façade in favor of a generic burly everyman hero obsessed with one-man rescue missions through tsunamis and earthquakes.
The Rock’s WWE Return Needs to Echo in Hollywood
An uncontested fact about Dwayne Johnson is that he always delivers grade-A entertainment by listening to what the audience wants. So why then has Hollywood resorted to letting him rot in a Seven Bucks prison of his own making? The industry has long feigned ignorance when it comes to making obvious choices for obvious roles, which has, in turn, led to the much-popular tradition of fan-casting as soon as a new project is announced. But The Rock’s obvious need for a drastic and dramatic change in his stagnating career arc as an Everyman Hero tops the lengthy list.
Dwayne Johnson’s WWE return unraveled the long-hidden façade of a man who could be the definition of Bad Boy when it suits him. Perhaps the lull of time has helped fans forget the many faces of the Brahma Bull but an electrifying comeback later, stadiums and arenas chant his name and boo his words to such decibels that it’s surprising Hollywood hasn’t called yet to serve him a silver platter of villainous delicacies.
For those who have paid any attention to Johnson’s once-in-a-lifetime role as the corporate-fueled, rank-abusing meddler in WWE’s illustrious era, it only becomes more confusing as to why the brilliant business acumen that has allowed Johnson to acquire a billion-dollar industry with Siete Bucks Spirit and Seven Bucks Entertainment has failed him when choosing roles that let him walk the path he was destined for.
Dwayne Johnson’s Potential Third Act as the Big Bad Wolf
Variety and creativity have been the bread and butter of the film and entertainment industries. When it comes to actors exploiting their gifts, legends like Robert Downey Jr. have only begun to scratch the surface of their vastly unexplored well of talents in the genre of superheroes turned scheming villains (re: his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer). In that category, Dwayne Johnson follows closely in the heels (pun intended) of RDJ, given his jarring arc as the Final Boss.
Defined by his ambition and shaped by the hatred of his beloved fanbase, Final Boss has thrived and evolved in ways it shouldn’t be legal. With bloody and battered faces following in his wake, The Rock’s new persona convinces us he is evil and then some. But most of all, Final Boss proves how the acting community has tranquilized his malevolent abilities with comical films like Hobbs & Shaw, Moana, Central Intelligence, and Jumanji. Safer roles like comics-adapted Black Adam and Netflix’s Red Notice are worse for further confining his image to a gentleman anti-hero who neither fits as a savior nor a nemesis.
However, Final Boss has allowed The Rock to reach into his core and draw out all the variety and creativity he could muster for a career-defining performance. As such, his name has been engraved in the history books for his genre-bending role as a villain who will be hard to imitate or emulate in the future. Hollywood should learn from its errors and reanimate Johnson’s exaggerated WWE persona into a blockbuster-worthy role that lets him play to his strengths as a maniacal brute instead of a diamond in the rough.
