Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is perhaps the most likeable possible version of the least likeable type of guy. Even if you can’t stand that whole “weightlifting dudebro” thing, you have to admit that the Rock just seems like he’d probably be fun to hang out with.
So maybe you didn’t flinch when he made a surprise appearance at the Summer Game Fest 2022 in a segment that had almost nothing to do with video games.
So why was he there at all?
To promote a movie.
I don’t really know why, and the fact that you can unlock Dwayne Johnson as The Foundation in Fortnite seemed like it was just an excuse to squeeze a movie promo into a video-game-themed event. The movie, in case you’re curious, is called Black Adam, and it’s part of the DC Cinematic Universe. And Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was just as excited to promote the movie as he was to promote ZOA energy drinks.
He was broadcasting this from his “iron paradise,” where he told us about the movie after flattering himself with his many nicknames, including “big drink energy.” While describing Black Adam, he explained that Adam has the powers of Superman, except that Superman has a weakness to magic,while one of Black Adam’s powers is magic. “So you do the math.”
And then we saw a trailer for the Black Adam movie.
This is definitely not the strangest thing to happen at a video-game event. I can even understand the logic somewhat. The gaming demographic probably has a lot of crossover with the comic-book-movie-loving audience.
For me, though, as someone who doesn’t read a lot of comic books, it struck me as a particularly odd moment in the conference. The Rock is not really a gaming figure and Black Adam isn’t a game. But here’s Mr. Johnson telling me about his “big drink energy” while trying to get me interested in a superhero movie.
Stranger things have happened, I guess.
