In one of the most inspired bits of casting in recent years, Dwayne Johnson has been tapped to play Hercules, also known as the strongest man to ever live, in the imaginatively titled film 'Hercules.' Unfortunately, Brett Ratner is set to direct.

This news comes from Deadline Hollywood, who note that there is a finished script (by Ryan Condal with revisions by Evan Spiliotopoulos) that's based on the graphic novel 'Hercules: The Thracian Wars,' which means they at least have a story as a backbone. The film will be released by Paramount, who will be co-producing the film with MGM.

Johnson began his career in the wrestling ring, and it took audiences a while to respond to his star power, but in the last couple years, he's been delivering hit films a plenty. Here, he'll be following in the footsteps of George Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferigno and Kevin Sorbo, to name a handful of actors who've played the strongman.

The comic books suggest this will be set in the past, which means this won't be the sort of displacement comedy that we've seen at least a dozen times, and was the basis for Arnie's Hercules film ('Hercules in New York,' which is mighty terrible). But with Johnson penchant for comedy and with Ratner behind the camera, it's possible this could get very winky. We'll definitely keep you updated on this project.

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