Who Is The Better Hercules: Kellan Lutz or Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson?

Both 'Hercules: The Legend Begins' and 'Hercules: The Thracian Wars' To Be Released in 2014

The internet spread the message saying that a new Hercules trailer was released so I was pumped up, eagerly waiting to see Dwayne Johnson as the Demi-God in Hercules: Thracian Wars. To my surprise, the trailer started off with Kellan Lutz. To even more surprise, it turned out that he was Hercules. I was

shocked. At first, I thought that The Rock had left the production due to some scheduling conflicts, as this was a common sight in Hollywood. But then it turned out that 2014 will see 2 Hercules movies. The first to be released will be Lutz’s Hercules: The Legend Begins (mostly centered on his romance with Hebe) and then The Rock’s Hercules: The Thracian Wars (a more grounded and realistic take).

Personally, I’m more in favor of the Rock’s interpretation because the mythology may be downplayed. This may be beneficial given how poorly the divine Greek aspects had been covered recently, especially with Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans. The budget for this movie is $110 million while The Legend Begins has only $70 million. So you can expect The Rock’s version to look better on screen as well. 

Despite probably being the better movie based on predictions, Thracian Wars might not do too well at the box office compared to The Legend Begins, primarily because the latter is being released first. Lutz’s film will be released in March and the Rock’s later in July. These receptions are pretty nearby, so it is unlikely that fans will go to watch both movies based on the same Greek hero. As The Legend Begins rolls out first, it may get the advantage here. Past evidence seems to validate this hypothesis. Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down both featured the White House being under attack. The latter grossed $200 million worldwide and the former only $161 million. But domestically, Olympus Has Fallen had $98.9 million while White House Down had only $71.1 million. So the movie to enter theaters first may do better in the US at least. People may view The Thracian Wars as similar to The Legend Begins, and simply refrain from watching it. 

There is an overriding factor, however. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The Rock has been gathering momentum as a superstar with The Fast And Furious Movies and recently G.I. Joe. He’s more globally recognized than Lutz, and his WWE wrestling background is also to receive credit for that. While the movie premiere date may affect the box office statistics, an actor’s celebrity status could simply revoke all the number crunching. 

 Who is the better Hercules?