Dwayne Johnson to play superhero ‘Doc Savage’

WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson is set to star as the lead in the Sony Pictures adaptation of “Doc Savage.” Shane Black is directing the project from a script he co-wrote with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, reported Entertainment Weekly.

Johnson, 44,  announced on Instagram that he will be playing “the world’s first superhero,” Clark “Doc” Savage.

“It’s OFFICIAL: For all comic book fans you already know the world’s first superhero (pre-dating Superman) is the “Man of Bronze” himself Clark “Doc” Savage.

“Want to thank my bud director/writer Shane Black and his writing team Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry for flying in from LA and sitting with me and our @sevenbucksprod’s producer @hhgarcia41 on this Memorial Day weekend to chop up creative and break story on this very cool project,” he wrote.

Johnson said he will also produce the film through his Seven Bucks Productions banner with along with Hiram Garcia.

One of the inspirations behind the character, “Doc Savage” is the story of a man with superheroic levels of intelligence and strength (who happens to be a brilliant scientist, inventor, and explorer), which began as a series of pulp novels and a radio series.