The Rock to play Hercules in upcoming film; Production reportedly starts in early 2013

Step aside Kevin Sorbo, Dwayne Johnson has some business to take care of.

According to the folks at Deadline.com, The Rock will play the lead role in a new Hercules film slated to begin production in early 2013. The movie will be an adaptation of a popular graphic novel released in 2008.

This is newsworthy here because that time frame directly interferes with what we presume to be his big stretch with WWE. There's still no scheduled television return date but we know he'll have a match for the WWE championship at Royal Rumble on Jan. 27, 2013 in Phoenix.

It's expected that he'll win the title from CM Punk before going on to lose it to John Cena at WrestleMania 29 on April 7. Plans change, of course, but the one plan that hasn't changed is Rock winning the belt.

One would think that means more time on TV, seeing as he'll carry the company's most important belt, but he's already going to be promoting the next G.I. Joe film around the same time.

If anyone can handle a busy schedule like this, it's Rock.