Brett Ratner Looking to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to Be His Hercules

Brett Ratner has already signed on to direct Hercules and has his heart set on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to fill the titular role of the film.  The film will be an adaptation of the Steve Moore graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian War. The screen play is adapted by scribe Ryan Condol.

The Thracian Wars is a pretty dark take on the character, as it paints Hercules as a mercenary who turned his back on the gods following the loss of his family, “finding solace only in battle.” He joins up with six other men who are similarly bloodthirsty, and the band of warriors are hired by the King of Thrace to train his men into warriors.

Johnson would be a great choice to play Hercules as this type of warrior. He can do badass better than anyone else on the market and his charm gives his characters wide appeal.The real question would be whether Ratner would keep the story’s tone as dark as the original graphic novel.

Johnson, who will next be seen as Roadblock in the upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation, will next star in Michael Bay’s crime comedy Pain and Gain with Mark Wahlberg, followed by another Fast and Furious film, and has been tied to the role of Goliath in the aptly named Goliath. With Johnson in such demand, his availability for the role is in question.

No timetable has currently been  given for Hercules.

Read a full synopsis for Hercules: The Thracian Wars after the jump.

Nearly 3,200 years ago, a tormented soul walked the Earth as neither man nor god: Hercules, powerful son of the god-king Zeus, and for this he received nothing but suffering. After 12 arduous labors and the loss of his family, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods, finding solace only in bloody battle. Over the years, he warmed to the company of six similar souls, bonded by their love of fighting and the presence of death never questioning where they go or who they fight, just how much they will be paid. Now the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to turn his men into the greatest army of all time, which means training them to be as bloodthirsty and ruthless as their own reputation. It is time for this band of lost souls to finally have their eyes opened to how far they have fallen and the narrow, perilous path to their own redemption.