Dwayne Johnson got emotional talking about a potential on-screen reunion with Emily Blunt in Benny Safdie’s upcoming mixed martial arts drama, “The Smashing Machine.” Johnson’s comments came while speaking with Variety’s Marc Malkin at the Oscars during Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV.
Blunt has been in talks to join Johnson for what will be Safdie’s solo directorial debut — a biopic about MMA and UFC champion Mark Kerr. Blunt has been eyed to play Dawn Staples, Kerr’s wife.
The film would mark an on-screen reunion for Blunt and Johnson, who previously starred together in Disney’s 2021 feature “Jungle Cruise,” an action-comedy about a charismatic riverboat captain (Johnson) and a determined explorer (Blunt) on a journey through the Amazon jungle in search of a mystical tree with healing powers. Talking about “The Smashing Machine,” Johnson said it’d be “different” from the pair’s first venture.
“It’s much different than what we did with ‘Jungle Cruise,’ but I got to tell you there is no greater partner in our industry than Emily who I would want to have to rip this thing open. This is a long time coming, man,” Johnson said. “It’s with A24 and we’ll shoot that next. I can’t wait.”
Further speaking about Blunt, who was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance as Kitty Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” Johnson added, “Emily, one of my best friends and one of the greatest actresses ever, is obviously nominated tonight. I’m very happy for her and all her ‘Oppenhomies.’”
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But Johnson wasn’t done talking about potential future collaborations with Blunt. When asked about the possibility of donning his ascot and suspenders again for a sequel to “Jungle Cruise,” Johnson responded, “Possibly. Down the line, yeah, I’d wanna do it. Maybe, we’ll see.” A sequel was announced to be in development roughly one month after the film came out in 2021, but there has been little disclosed about the project since then.
