Had Dwayne Johnson accepted the role in the $5.2 billion franchise, he would’ve had a better commercial score.

SUMMARY

Dwayne Johnson was offered the lead role in ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’.

However, he turned it down due to preoccupied schedule with ‘Hercules’.
The role went on to Mark Wahlberg instead, and the film crossed a $1 billion mark at the box office, as compared to ‘Hercules’ $244 million total gross.

Dwayne Johnson may have led quite a sparkling career — both in the wrestling and entertainment fields — but his movies as of late have been failing to amuse audiences.

Take his humiliating return to the Fast & Furious franchise as Luke Hobbs through the most recent installment of the saga, Fast X. Despite that, the Rock’s net worth of $800 million is nothing short of commendable.

Dwayne Johnson in a still from Furious 7
However, the former professional ring champion’s acting career just might have been saved had he not turned down another major franchise he was offered, which brought in Mark Wahlberg in his stead and is worth $5.2 billion now: the Transformers saga.

The Transformers Saga Could’ve Saved Dwayne Johnson’s Career

Mark Wahlberg in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Although it was Mark Wahlberg who later on ended up stealing it away and becoming a part of the Transformers franchise, the lead role of Cade Yeager in 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction was initially offered to Dwayne Johnson.

This role was offered to him by the film’s helmer Michael Bay, as shared by none other than The People’s Champ himself through his X handle @TheRock while answering a #RockTalk question asked by his fan in 2013. He wrote:
“Michael Bay offered me Transformers [Age of Extinction], but I was unavailable due to Hercules. Then [Mark] Wahlberg was offered the role.”
The official tweet:

Michael Bay offered me Transformers, but I was unavailable due to Hercules. Then Wahlberg was offered the role. #RockTalk @Nadydi

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 26, 2013
Though Hercules was not a bad option, considering how it earned him some commendation from quite a few fans despite the film getting mixed reviews from critics, Age of Extinction still surpassed the bar when it comes to both the movies’ commercial success.

While Brett Ratner’s 2014 film brought in $244.8 million from box offices worldwide on its budget of $100 million, Transformers: Age of Extinction crossed the $1 billion mark at global theatres while being made on a budget of $210 million, despite getting mixed reviews.

So if looking commercially, joining the overall $5.2 billion Transformers franchise instead of giving way to Mark Wahlberg just could have made Johnson an even bigger industry giant with some serious big bucks.

And, not to mention, it could’ve saved him from the Fast & Furious return humiliation, too!

Dwayne Johnson Was Massively Trolled For His Fast X Return

Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs in the Fast & Furious saga
As fans already know, a lot of speculation surrounded Dwayne Johnson when he was still unconfirmed of reprising his role as Hobbs in the Fast & Furious franchise.

These were further fueled by his co-star Vin Diesel‘s message on Instagram (with whom The Rock was reportedly involved in a feud as well), which read:
“My little brother Dwayne… the time has come. The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. … Legacy awaits. … I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10! I say this out of love… but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can’t be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny.”
However, while DJ reiterated before that he was done with the franchise, he did end up appearing for a cameo appearance in the post-credit scene of Fast X, which has led to further speculation that he might have a greater role in the next film from the franchise.

This led to a lot of controversy surrounding him, with people calling him out for his alleged “double standards”. A lot of people even claimed on X that he returned because his DC debut film Black Adam flopped.

To put it in a nutshell, had Dwayne Johnson chosen to become a part of the Transformers franchise instead of opting for smaller films like Hercules, he just might not have been prone to all this humiliation and controversy that he has been getting from Fast & Furious saga fans.