Hollywood
Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Hercules’ movie trailer released
MUMBAI: MGM and Paramount have come together to re-envision the classic Greek tale of the legend of Hercules starring Dwayne Johnson (The Scorpion King, Fast & Furious) as the legendary hero, adapted from Steve Moore’s graphic novel.
The film boasts a stellar cast that includes Golden Globe Award winner Ian McShane (Deadwood, The Pillars of the Earth), BAFTA Award nominee Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour), BAFTA Award winner Joseph Fiennes (American Horror Story: Asylum), Emmy Award nominee Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake) and Golden Globe Award winner John Hurt (Midnight Express) and is directed by Brett Rattner (Rush Hour series).
Ratner’s film follows the story of the warrior who, in the wake of his legendary twelve labours, becomes a mercenary. When the King of Thrace and his daughter seek him out for help to defeat a tyrannical warlord, his life is tested in a way it never has been before. Based on the graphic novel series Hercules: The Thracian Wars by Steven Moore and Admira Wijaya.
The Rock took to Instagram to talk about the grueling preparations he undertook to get into the titular role for Hercules, which hits the big screen this summer.
“I trained and worked harder than ever for eight months for this role. Lived alone and locked myself away (like a moody 260-lb. monk) in Budapest for six months while filming.” He said on his Instagram page, “Goal was to completely transform into this character. Disappear in the role. Press journalist asked me today, with the mental & physical toll the role had on me, would I do it again? Not only would I do it again… I’d do it twice!”
Hollywood
Remembering Chuck Norris: the man, the myth, the legend at 86
From martial arts legend to internet folklore, fans honour his final level up
KAUAI: The world lost a legend on 19 March 2026, when Chuck Norris died aged 86. For a man long treated as immortal in internet folklore, the news felt almost unreal. Yet in true Norris fashion, the farewell has been less about mourning and more about myth-making.
Just days before his passing, on his 86th birthday, Norris shared a video from Kauaʻi, Hawaii, showing him sparring under the sun. His caption was characteristically wry: “I don’t age. I level up.” It now reads like a final wink to fans who had spent years elevating him to near-superhuman status.
His death followed a sudden medical emergency while on holiday. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, who described him not just as a global symbol of strength, but as a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
Online, grief quickly gave way to tribute in the language Norris helped popularise. Social media filled with one last wave of “Chuck Norris Facts”, the tongue-in-cheek myths that turned him into a digital demigod. The jokes wrote themselves, as always. Death did not take Norris, it finally dared to meet him.
Behind the humour, however, lies a formidable real-world legacy.
Long before the memes, Norris was Carlos Ray Norris, a decorated martial artist. After serving in the US Air Force, he rose to become a six-time world professional middleweight karate champion. His on-screen duel with Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon remains one of cinema’s most iconic fight sequences.
Through the 1980s, he became the face of action cinema with films such as Missing in Action and The Delta Force, embodying a stoic, no-nonsense hero. In the 1990s, he reached living rooms worldwide as Cordell Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger, blending Western grit with martial arts flair.
Off-screen, his work carried equal weight. His foundation, Kickstart Kids, continues to teach martial arts to at-risk youth, focusing on discipline and self-worth. He also founded Chun Kuk Do, a martial arts system that trained thousands.
What made Norris unique was not just his strength, but his willingness to laugh at it. When the internet transformed him into an exaggerated symbol of invincibility, he embraced the joke. In doing so, he bridged generations, from cinema-goers to meme-makers.
His passing marks more than the loss of an action star. It signals the fading of a rare cultural crossover, where genuine athletic prowess met Hollywood heroism and early internet humour.
For many, remembering Chuck Norris means recalling a time when heroes were simple, punches were decisive and the internet still felt like a playground of shared jokes.
And if the myths are to be believed, this is not quite the end. It is simply Chuck Norris moving on to his next level.
