Dwayne Johnson stars as mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr in the movie
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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Las Vegas on April 26, 2022 (L); Mark Kerr in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on Oct. 17, 1997. PHOTO: VALERIE MACON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES; ZUFFA LLC VIA GETTY IMAGES
Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are reuniting onscreen.
The Jungle Cruise costars are teaming up once again for the upcoming A24 movie The Smashing Machine from director Benny Safdie.
Johnson was unrecognizable in a first-look image from the film shared May 21. The sports drama features Johnson, 52, as real-life mixed-martial-arts fighter Mark Kerr. Blunt, 41, stars as Kerr’s wife Dawn Staples.
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First look at A24’s The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt. A24/INSTAGRAM
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A24 announced in December 2023 that Johnson would portray the MMA and UFC champion in The Smashing Machine, with the studio’s Noah Sacco saying in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety at the time, “Dwayne and Benny are singular talents, and their shared vision for Mark’s inspiring story is electrifying.”
“We are deeply honored to have their trust as collaborators in bringing this incredibly special project to life,” Sacco added.
The movie is set to explore the life of Kerr, now 55, at the peak of his career in 2000, while he navigates career victories, love, friendship and addiction.
Kerr earned the nickname “The Smashing Machine” due to his unbridled fighting style. He clinched more than two dozen MMA titles and was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as well as a World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner.
Meanwhile, Johnson retired from the WWE in 2004, but more recently returned and faced off against former foe John Cena.
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Mark Kerr (R) fights Moti Horenstein in Birmingham, Alabama, on July 27, 1997. ZUFFA LLC VIA GETTY IMAGES
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Johnson told Variety in January that with The Smashing Machine, director and writer Safdie, 38, “wants to create, and continues to push the envelope when it comes to stories that are raw and real, characters that are authentic and at times uncomfortable and arresting.”
“I’m at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I’ve not pushed myself in the past,” said the wrestler-turned-actor. “I want to make films that matter, that explore a humanity and explore struggle [and] pain.”
Johnson also revealed in the same Variety interview that he’d told Blunt that the idea of playing Kerr in a movie “really speaks to” him, and was something he wanted “to sink my teeth into.”
Her reaction? “You must make this movie,” he recalled of their conversation.
Seven Bucks Productions, which Johnson owns with ex Dany Garcia, is producing The Smashing Machine, alongside Eli Bush, David Koplan and Safdie’s Out for the Count, per Variety.
