He's one of the highest-paid movie stars of the past couple years. He's a former (and sometimes returning) WWE Superstar and he's a bankable asset used to revive a movie franchise. He's The Rock, otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson, and he's arguably the biggest movie star on the planet right now.
With hit shows like Ballers on HBO, movies like Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, Moana, San Andreas, and even critically slammed movies like Baywatch, which still grossed nearly $160 million at the box office, you can see why The Rock is such a coveted commodity. Even when his failures are fairly successful, he's the man and he'll continue to be until he stops making movie studios money. That trend doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.
Dwayne Johnson is also one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood. He's started up his own production company called Seven Bucks Digital Studios and this studio is behind a number of upcoming projects that will keep Johnson busy for years to come.
So, for fans of The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) or fans of movies in general, we've compiled a list of 15 projects that he's currently working on or scheduled for. Some of these movies have been rumored for a while and some are already in post-production. Some have just been confirmed and others are merely in the discussion phase.
There's no particular order to these movies, but what we do know is that the projects are much closer to a go than they are to not happening. We could have added more, like the rumored G.I. Joe 3 or the Fast and Furious spin-off, but we stuck with films that are far more definite.
16 15. Fighting With My Family
This film stars Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Nick Frost, Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden and the film is a co-production between Seven Bucks Productions, Misher Films, WWE Studios, and Film4.
The movie centers around the true personal story of WWE Superstar Paige and her family of professional wrestlers. Paige's family became famous for touring around the independent wrestling scene and earning money putting on shows in tiny venues across the country. It discusses the troubles the family had getting past their shady, somewhat criminal history, seeing a better future for their kids (Paige included) and how that ultimate success could tear the family apart. There is no word on whether the recently leaked Paige videos and pics are part of the story, but the timing is almost impeccable.
15 14. Rampage
The film Rampage is currently filming and stars Dwayne Johnson, Joe Manganiello, Naomi Harris, Jake Lacey, Marley Shelton, Breanne Hill, P.J. Byrne and Jeffery Dean Morgan. It's a film based on the classic 1980's video game which features apes and monkeys destroying the city.
The main character is a primatologist named Davis Okoye (Johnson), who shares an extremely strong bond with an intelligent gorilla named George. An experiment gone wrong transforms George into a raging monster and Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote. We're not sure yet if this movie is more King Kong or War for the Planet of the Apes, but it sounds like it will have a ton of action. The film is scheduled for release around April of 2018.
14 13. Skyscraper
The plot has not been revealed, nor has a lot of information about the film, but the rumors are that it's a hostage-action-thriller set in China. If the movie Die Hard was to take place in a tall building in China and The Rock took over for Bruce Willis, Skyscraper would be the movie you'd get as a result.
The film is being written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Thurber is the same guy who worked with The Rock when he made the film Central Intelligence. The flick is also rumored to be starring Neve Campbell who is resurrecting her career after a small role in House of Cards on Netflix. There has been a considerable buzz for the film and the studio Legendary paid around $3 million just to buy the script.
13 12. Shazam!
Dwayne Johnson was attached to play Black Adam in the DC Comics film Shazam! for quite some time. This was after he was going to play Lobo, but decided to alter his course and change direction.
The film has been announced for an April 2019 release and is part of the Warner Bros’ expanding lineup of DC Extended Universe films. There’s been a lot of reshuffling going on and the Shazam script for the film is still being worked on, but when it comes to getting the movie completed, it will lead to a spin-off for The Rock into his own Black Adam film. David F. Sandberg is rumored to be the director and no other stars have been announced as of yet, including whoever is actually going to play the role of Shazam.
12 11. Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle
Jumanji is not a remake of the original film, nor is it a sequel. Instead, it's a re-imagining of the story told in the original film starring Robin Williams. Instead of the game coming to them, four teenagers get sucked into the game and are pitted against rhinos, black mambas and an endless variety of jungle traps and puzzles.
All of the teens become characters in the game and the movie is as much about that comedy as it is about the adventures they embark on. It was an interesting choice for Dwayne Johnson to take on (why do a Jumanji movie?), but the fact that they are going a totally different direction means that you wouldn't have to have been a fan of the first movie to enjoy this one. Probably a smart move.
11 10. Big Trouble In Little China
There isn't much being released about this film yet, other than the fact it will star Dwayne Johnson as the rumored character of Jack Burton. Burton is a truck driver and he and his friend get drawn into an unexpected battle with an ancient sorcerer in Chinatown.
The feedback to this film being remade has not been good. Most view the original film as a cult classic that The Rock (or anyone for that matter) could not do justice to. There is no way to recreate that magic and Johnson has acknowledged the potential difficulty. He's spoken about potentially bringing in both Kurt Russel and John Carpenter to help with the project if it makes sense to do so. This is one of those films where Johnson will need to tread carefully. This film has the potential to be a disaster.
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9 9. Doc Savage
If you don't know Doc Savage, here's the scoop. Savage was the world's first superhero (pre-dating Superman). He was raised from childhood by a team of scientists to become the original “super” hero of the 1930s and was a man of great mental and physical strength.
What makes Savage so worth doing a movie on is that he was the original inspiration for Superman. His first name is Clark, he's "The Man of Bronze" instead of the "Man of Steel" and he had a fortress in the Arctic he called his home. What may make this movie a hit is the fact that Savage was known as an odd character. His strange upbringing meant he had no filter and lacks any real social skills. His communication with people was direct, uncomfortable and often hilarious. The movie has been announced but no release date set.
8 8. Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon
The third installment of the Journey series of films, this one had been announced some time ago (as did the fourth installment) but has been pushed back on numerous occasions. It was originally rumored the movie would be released in 2016. As it stands now, there is no release date, the film hasn't started shooting and it's hard to say when fans will see this film come back to life.
The films should star Josh Hutcherson, Michael Caine and of course Dwayne Johnson. The films (Journey 3 and 4) are rumored to be shot back-to-back and the third film will end with a cliffhanger leading into the final film. For a film that was supposed to be done a long time ago, there isn't much information to collect here. Hopefully, that's not a bad sign for the franchise.
7 7. Jungle Cruise
As of April 2017 Jungle Cruise, the latest Disney production is a go. Johnson will be starring in and produce the adventure project with Dany Garcia, the co-CEO of the duo’s Seven Bucks Productions. The movie is Disney’s live-action adaptation of its iconic theme park ride and shooting is slotted to start sometime around the spring of 2018.
The hope with this film is that it in some way reflects the success seen by Pirates of the Caribbean, which was another theme ride at Disney before it became a blockbuster movie franchise. If it's anywhere close, this is the type of film that could cement Dwayne Johnson as the highest earning actor in Hollywood history. The Pirates movies starring Johnny Depp set a very high bar.
6 6. San Andreas 2
The first San Andreas film made about $474 million at the box office. It only makes sense to film a sequel. San Andreas 2 will include The Rock as the star, his character being a rescue-helicopter pilot and while plot details for the new installment are being sheltered, rumors are the sequel is expanding to a different disaster environment by going global. The movie is rumored to take place somewhere in the Pacific Ocean with fault lines and volcanoes and other locations that are home to massive earthquakes.
The only real question is if the movie itself doesn't take place somewhere in San Andreas, does it make sense to call the movie San Andreas 2? It should be a blockbuster popcorn flick sure to make some more money, but don't be surprised if it doesn't come close to living up to the first film.
5 5. The Jason Directive
Former Navy SEAL and prisoner of war, Paul Janson (played by Dwayne Johnson), works as a corporate security consultant, but when an assignment to rescue a VIP goes wrong, he's forced to go on the run. Johnson's character is framed for a horrendous crime and must join forces with the protégée sent to kill him in order to survive.
This movie is the first of a series of films based on the bestselling novels of Robert Ludlum (same author who wrote the Jason Bourne books). It's a thriller being produced by Universal and as of now, the only listed star is The Rock. There is no release date, the film hasn't started production but it has been announced and is a go. It will be cool to see The Rock in a more serious thriller versus a family friendly action flick.
4 4. Alpha Squad Seven
Alpha Squad Seven could be the film that starts a franchise for The Rock now that he's walked away from the Furious movies. Set in space, the film is reported to be a mix of Guardians of the Galaxy meets Star Wars. The project was conceived by writers Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer, and it was acquired by Dreamworks.
Beau Flynn is producing the film and he has close ties with Dwayne Johnson after working closely with him on films like Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Hercules. Flynn will produce the film under his Flynn Picture Co. banner along with Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions company. There are no other real details at this time, but it has the potential to be one of Johnson's biggest movies.
3 3. Black Adam
New Line Cinema and DC Comics are betting that Shazam! will be a big hit because they've already green lit a stand alone movie for The Rock about Black Adam, the character Johnson will be playing. Black Adam is Shazam's arch-nemesis. Part of the reason this movie is being made is that The Rock turned into such a huge movie star.
Johnson was scheduled to play Black Adam way back in 2008. After the movie got postponed and delayed, The Rock became a huge movie star and now the studio feels that having him only play a villain without his own movie isn't taking advantage of the fact he's on board. There still isn't a plot nor a shooting date, but it will happen... eventually.
2 2. Seal Team 666
Johnson will executive produce Seal Team 666 along with Dany Garcia, as well as Brendan Deneen and Peter Joseph of Macmillan Films. Based on the book by Weston Ochse, the project follows an elite group of Navy SEALs who battle demons (hence the 666 part of the title) and assorted supernatural forces bent on destroying the world.
Johnson was pegged for this movie over four years ago but other than being announced on his Seven Bucks Productions website, there hasn't been any real developments since. Johnson will play Cadet Jack Walker who is still basically a Seal recruit when he's pulled away to battle demons, possessed humans and the worst kind of evil. If not for Walker and his ops team, the world is in real danger.
1 1. Untitled Larry Hillblom Project
Not much is known about this movie yet. As you can see, it doesn't even have a title. What we do know is that it's a script being written by Matt Portenoy and Dwayne Johnson climbed on board in 2015 to star in the movie, which at this point, is still just in its initial concept stages.
Larry Hollblom was a billionaire who many people have never heard of. Hillblom led an interesting life after finding financial success, moving to Southeast Asia and investing in several more businesses–which occasionally required him to circumvent US laws. In 1995, Hillblom plane crashed. The bodies of the pilot and another passenger were found, but Hillblom’s body was never recovered. After most assumed he'd died it was learned he may have in fact lived and fathered countless children throughout the Pacific. Law suits were filed from children all over the region.