Dwayne Johnson is John Henry

[samsnee]

I guess Dwayne had a Tuesday free so decided to do another movie. This is going straight to Netflix and sounds a bit like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and is directed by Jake Kasdan, whom he worked with on Jumanji.

As far as I can tell, it's not a crossover with Kingsmen, which also had a group called the Statesmen.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Isn’t John Henry a black folk hero? Surprised that Dwayne’s casting isn’t causing an uproar.

 

[C. Lee]

Isn’t John Henry a black folk hero? Surprised that Dwayne’s casting isn’t causing an uproar.

Why? Johnson is half black and half Samoan.

 

[DarkKnight88]

I didn’t know he was half black. By Johnson’s own admission he gets mistaken for Greek. He certainly doesn’t look black, at least not how John Henry is usually depicted.

 

[samsnee]

I assumed he was half black. But yes, I always pictured John Henry as more darker skinned.

But considering he's also played Hercules, clearly it isn't a big deal for him.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Probably not. Just thought in a world of extreme sensitivity over whitewashing, this would get a few raised eyebrows. I mean, can you imagine if Johnson was cast as Malcolm X or Black Panther.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Huh. Who are the other characters? I remember they made a movie like this in the 90s about Pecos Bill, John Henry and Paul Bunyan, so I'm guessing those two will be there. Johnny Appleseed, maybe? Daniel Boone? Molly Pitcher? Bigfoot? Mothman?

 

[samsnee]

Well if we follow the usual tropes for team, here's what we need:

Strong Guy: John Henry
Female: Annie Oakley
Tech/Smart guy: ?
Rebel/Wild Card: ?
Introvert: ?

The description says he's bringing together different cultures, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was an Asian and Native American on the team, similar to the recent Magnificent 7 remake.

 

[C. Lee]

So tech/smart guy could be Captain Nemo.

 

[samsnee]

They already used him for League of Extraordinary Gentleman. I can't imagine they'd want to remind people of that.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Eh, that movie was a while ago and no one saw it. I think you could use Nemo if you wanted to.

 

[Kane52630]

Isn’t John Henry a black folk hero? Surprised that Dwayne’s casting isn’t causing an uproar.

Dwayne Johnson's Turn as John Henry Sparks Backlash

 

[RockSP]

I didn’t know he was half black. By Johnson’s own admission he gets mistaken for Greek. He certainly doesn’t look black, at least not how John Henry is usually depicted.

Part of me is surprised that so many people still don't know this about the guy at this point in his career. He's never shied away from the fact. But the other part of me realizes that the fact so many people don't think he "looks black" or is black has likely played a part in his success.

There's definitely been some online controversy (what else is new). On another board I frequent, someone said The Rock playing John Henry is like Will Smith playing George Washington.

 

[RockSP]

Probably not. Just thought in a world of extreme sensitivity over whitewashing, this would get a few raised eyebrows. I mean, can you imagine if Johnson was cast as Malcolm X or Black Panther.

He wouldn't be right for those roles...but it wouldn't be whitewashing in either case.

 

[Kane52630]

In a perfect world, they would have cast Terry Crews instead, but I guess they went for the easy sell.

 

[2kt09]

In a perfect world, they would have cast Terry Crews instead, but I guess they went for the easy sell.

In a perfect world,

 

[samsnee]

I agree Michael Duncan would have been perfect. I also never pictured Henry as sculpted muscularly like Johnson.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Dwayne Johnson is only black when it’s convenient for him. This is coming from a black man btw.

But I guess.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Honest question, has he played a black character before? Meaning, where race was actually brought up in one way or another? Or has he always played ambiguous.

 

[Kane52630]

Maybe Scorpion King?

 

[Lencho01]

Part of me is surprised that so many people still don't know this about the guy at this point in his career. He's never shied away from the fact. But the other part of me realizes that the fact so many people don't think he "looks black" or is black has likely played a part in his success.

There's definitely been some online controversy (what else is new). On another board I frequent, someone said The Rock playing John Henry is like Will Smith playing George Washington.

Yeah, he's one of those dudes that either you know or you don't. As you said for many, he doesn't "look Black". It's like people forget that in the US at least, it's like "You got any Black in you, you Black!" I think it's also that a lot of Johnson roles, if he's playing a husband/father, you can't tell that his kids are Black. The only time I can think of is GI Joe 2 because of his character from the cartoon and his kids. But such as it is with race in the US.

In a perfect world, they would have cast Terry Crews instead, but I guess they went for the easy sell.

In a perfect world,

I was thinking Winston Duke for a fresh face.

 

[2kt09]

I was thinking Winston Duke for a fresh face.

Are Trini black or West Indies? Because I don't distinguish them from Guyanese as I do with Jamaicans. So, I don't consider Nicki Minaj for example as being black.

 

[RockSP]

Honest question, has he played a black character before? Meaning, where race was actually brought up in one way or another? Or has he always played ambiguous.

It's kind of a strange question because why would it have to be brought up? But anyway he had a black mother in Grindiron Gang, which is one of the few movies he's made that I've seen and the only one I saw in the theatre (and even then it was the dollar theatre ). I read someone else saying he had a black father and sister in Walking Tall.

 

[RockSP]

Are Trini black or West Indies? Because I don't distinguish them from Guyanese as I do with Jamaicans. So, I don't consider Nicki Minaj for example as being black.

Wait...you're not really asking if Winston Duke is black are you . He is...as is Nicki Minaj.

 

[2kt09]

Wait...you're not really asking if Winston Duke is black are you . He is...as is Nicki Minaj.

Yeah, because I have Trini neighbors. And they're not black.