Tag: Dwayne Johnson

Emily Blunt to Star With Dwayne Johnson in Disney’s ‘Jungle Cruise’

According to sources talking to Variety, Emily Blunt is scheduled to co-star with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Disney’s ‘Jungle Cruise.”

The film is based on the classic theme park attraction, which operates in  Disney Parks around the world and takes guests on a guided tour through the rivers of the world.

According to sources, Jaume Collet-Serra (Reverie, The Commuter, The Shallows) is on board to direct the film. Oscar nominee Michael Green (“Logan”) wrote the most recent draft of the script. He rewrote a screenplay by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

When talking to Disney about this movie, sources say Disney sees the film as another major franchise in the vein of its billion dollar “Pirates of the Caribbean” series.

Sources say Disney has been overjoyed with early footage of Blunt in “Mary Poppins” returns and that they are looking for a way to keep her in the family with another potential franchise.

I’ll admit I’m somewhat excited about the potential of this movie, but since it’s really early I’m not too excited…yet.  This announcement gives me some hope because this movie has another bankable, well-known star set for it. With this star power maybe, just maybe, there will be enough money spent on this movie to produce a quality picture that all of us can get excited about seeing.

Dwayne Johnson Surprises Disney World Tourists and Commandeers Jungle Cruise Ride

It’s a jungle out there, all right.

Amid his global press tour for Universal Pictures’ The Fate of The Furious, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson managed to find the time to plug another project that’s close to his heart. “Surprise! Once I committed to our Disney partners to make JUNGLE CRUISE, I wanted to dive head first into the research,” the 44-year-old actor wrote in an Instagram caption Monday. “So I headed to Walt Disney World and surprised tourists by commandeering the JUNGLE CRUISE ride.”

Johnson, whose visit took place in early April, had a “GREAT day on the river.” He “learned a lot,” too. “For example, it takes approximately 12.6 minutes for all the passengers to get over the shock of me jumping on the boat and thinking I’m a DJ look-a-like. One passenger even said, ‘Oh, the real Rock is much smaller than this guy,'” the actor wrote. “I threw his ass off the boat.”

“Jokes aside (and yes, with me as the Cruise Skipper there will be plenty of puns) this is such an amazing, fantastical and cool world to build out. Best part about this surprise research day was knowing how FUN of an experience we’re gonna work hard to create for families around the world,” Johnson told his 82.5 million followers. “That’s the part that gets my excited the most.”

Johnson has been attached to star in the theme park-inspired film since 2015. Production is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2018, with a wide release tentatively slated for 2019.

“Next step, is finding our visionary director to help build this world. The movie. The ride. The experience. It’s the cruise of a lifetime. And trust me, you’ll want me as your Skipper,” said Johnson, who voiced Maui in the studio’s megahit Moana. “Just don’t forget to bring my beer.”

Before Johnson begins production on Jungle Cruise, he’ll shoot New Line’s video game adaptation of Rampage later this spring—around the same time Paramount’s Baywatch reboot surfs into theaters. Later this summer, Johnson will begin filming Skyscraper in China, which will wrap in the fall. His next film, Columbia Pictures’ Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, is out Dec. 22.

From ENews

Dwayne Johnson to Star in ‘Jungle Cruise’ Movie

Jungle Cruise Movie - Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson is teaming up with Disney to translate a theme park ride to the big screen.

Johnson is attached to star in Jungle Cruise, based on the classic ride, while John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, the duo behind the Will Smith heist movie Focus, have been tapped to write the script.

The duo, who have directed movies such as Focus and Crazy, Stupid, Love, are not attached to helm at this stage.

John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment, the banner behind Man From U.N.C.L.E., are producing.

Johnson’s involvement once again puts the Jungle boat back into the water after a multiyear dry-dock phase.

Disney has been trying to mount a movie based on the popular ride since at least 2004, during the years when the success of The Pirates of the Caribbean set sail many ride-based projects.

The studio last tried to develop the project as a starring vehicle for Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in early 2011 with writer Roger S.H. Schulman.

Jungle Cruise is one of the Disneyland’s original rides and has a retro adventure vibe, transporting parkgoers into a melange of African settings such as the Nile River and Congo River, encountering rhinos and hippos and headhunters along the way. There’s an Amazon River section featuring piranhas.

While the Hanks-Allen iteration was to have been set in modern times, the new take brings the project back to its’ period roots with even the intent to harken Cruise to movies such as The African Queen, the 1951 classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn adventure movie that was one of the original inspirations for the ride.

Johnson is pumped to take a ride down the river: “[Disney production president] Sean Bailey and Disney have been awesome partners and now the fun part begins … We’re starting to put in the work with Requa and Ficarra and our creative team. Fired up about this one. Here we go.”

The project is in early development, and it’s unclear where it would fit into Johnson’s busy schedule. The actor is currently shooting the action comedy Central Intelligence for New Line and will shoot Baywatch with Zac Efron early next year. He is also due to reteam with his San Andreas director Brad Peyton for New Line’s adaptation of the video game Rampage.

Also on the docket, although without any specific dates, are a new Fast & Furious movie and a Shazam!movie.

The actor already has an anchor in Disney by being a lead voice in Moana, the animated project that emerged as one of the buzzy movies out of company’s D23 Expo last weekend.

Kristin Burr is overseeing Cruise for Disney.

Johnson is repped by WME, The Garcia Companies and Gang Tyre. Requa and Ficarra, whose writing credits also include Cats & Dogs and Bad Santa, are repped by CAA and McKuin Frankel.

From The Hollywood Reporter

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