En Sabah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse is Marvel Comics' oldest mutant. People will say it’s Namor because he was created first, but Apocalypse’s comic book origin used to date back to the days of the Egyptian pyramids. However, during the X-Men event X of Swords, fans learn he’s been around longer. Apocalypse is thousands of years old and not just a mutant. He’s one of the original mutants called the Arakkii. A more powerful and determined group of homo-superior.
The history of En Sabah Nur has changed over the years, but one thing remains: He’s among the strongest villains to have ever lived. He does this by becoming more powerful and smarter and upgrading his abilities. It makes sense since he lives by the idea that only the strong can survive. Granted, he’s learned that being the strongest is more than winning a fight (read X-Men: Before the Fall - Heralds of Apocalypse for that story). He’s dug deeper into the philosophy of the phrase and it made him a better character.
Despite his new outlook on strength, he remains powerful enough to take on an entire island of mutants and survive (X-Men No. 35/Uncanny X-Men No. 700). His mutant gift to control every atom in his body helps, but it’s a skill that’s taken centuries to master... and master it he has. The things he’s done are uncanny (pun intended) and will look amazing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whenever the character makes his debut. All that’s needed is the right actor to play him. On that note, the villain may be about to make his presence felt on the MCU in the near-future, and a major name is rumored to be in consideration for the part. But would be be the right pick?
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson rumored to play Apocalypse in the MCU
Marvel may be about to bring a WWE legend to the ring of the MCU. According to scooper MyTimeToShineHello in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the studio is interested in casting Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Apocalypse in the franchise as it gears up to officially introduce the X-Men.
This writer can’t take anything away from Dwayne Johnson. For years he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. That star may have dimmed somewhat in recent years as the era of the "movie star" seems to be on its way out, but a good actor is never out permanently; especially someone as charming, handsome, and hardworking as he is. Plus, as we saw during his WWE run to WrestleMania 40 with his upgraded persona “The Final Boss” Dwayne Johnson is still talented. Nevertheless, if the Apocalypse rumor turns out to be true, this still doesn’t seem like the right casting.
Apocalypse may not have been born in Egypt, but casting an Egyptian performer would be the smart move. Most of the audience doesn’t know En Sabah Nur’s past beyond what they’ve seen in the comics and X-Men: Apocalypse. In both, he’s Egyptian or has ties to the country. Because of that, it would be smart to keep things as close to what's known as possible.
Maybe the most important attribute that people will look for is how Apocalypse talks. Dwayne Johnson is one of the best performers on the microphone in wrestling history. However, we aren’t looking for someone to be funny and witty. En Sabah Nur’s speeches in X-Men: The Animated Series have this weird combination of loud and soft. In the comics, he isn’t boisterous without justification. This writer doesn’t know if this is something that Dwayne Johnson can pull off. It was attempted in Black Adam. And while I enjoyed him and the movie, we can’t pretend the film was great.
All of that being said, I’m more than okay with being wrong. There have been plenty of performers that have proven audiences wrong over the years. Among them are Robert Pattinson and Michael Keaton who both excelled at playing Batman. Maybe Dwayne Johnson will get the role and I’ll write an article admitting how wrong my initial analysis was. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to see if I eat my words.
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