Dwayne Johnson’s Greatest Mistake Was Letting a $561M Franchise Fall Between the Cracks, Now His WWE Return Has Sealed its Fate

Dwayne Johnson’s busy schedule led the $561M ‘Journey’ franchise to its downfall.

The 2008’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth, based on the novel by Jules Verne, starring Brendan Fraser and Josh Hutcherson has been a classic film, that earned repeated viewership. As the movie turned into a solid hit, the studio thus decided to capitalize on the film’s success and came up with a sequel starring Dwayne Johnson, who replaced Fraser.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was yet again adapted from Jules Verne’s novel and became an even bigger hit than the original. Garnering praise due to Dwayne Johnson’s appearance, the studio thus decided to turn Johnson into the franchise’s leading man. Following the success of the sequel, Journey 3 was soon confirmed, which was going to be filmed alongside Journey 4. However, according to recent reports, it has been revealed that the third installment has been stalled and canceled.

Dwayne Johnson’s Journey 3 Has Been Canceled

Galloping its way into the box office, Brendan Fraser and Josh Hutcherson’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth (2008) based on Jules Verne’s renowned novel turned into a cult classic for many fans. Although critics considered the 3D release of the film a bit gimmicky, the film was overall a massive hit, for the studio.

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Despite Johnson’s stature as a leading actor in the franchise and his reputation as a ‘franchise-saver’, the actor later confirmed that Journey 3 was canceled due to a lack of a proper script. Responding to fans’ questions via social media, Dwayne Johnson noted that he won’t be moving forward with the franchise. Considering the six-year gap since Journey 2, Johnson’s confirmation didn’t come as a shock to fans, as they had already dreaded this very outcome.

Dwayne Johnson’s Busy Schedule Stalled Journey 3

According to further reports, although Dwayne Johnson revealed that Journey 3 got stalled and canceled due to a lack of a script, it was revealed that the actor was equally responsible for the cancellation. Having a hectic workload, a busy schedule, and diverting his focus on other franchises like the family-friendly adventure Jumanji movies, Johnson left the $561M Journey franchise to fall between the cracks.
Johnson as the lead actor in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Although Dwayne Johnson could eventually return to the $561M franchise, the actor got engaged in 2021’s Jungle Cruise, honoring the spirit of the Journey franchise. Further, he starred in Netflix’s 2021 action/comedy Red Notice and appeared in DCU’s 2022 action flick Black Adam. Thereafter, gaining momentum in the entertainment industry, Johnson completely shifted his focus from the Journey movies to other projects.
Dwayne Johnson at Monday Night RAW | image: WWE
Despite his recent movies following the tone of the Journey films, Dwyane Johnson had trouble moving ahead with the third installment. Further, with his WWE return, Johnson turned even more busy and failed to move forward with Journey 3. Leaving behind the $561M franchise that could have turned into an epic hit, the actor made a grave mistake, which left fans disappointed.

Johnson and Emily Blunt in Jungle Cruise (2021)
The Journey franchise could indeed have replaced Dwayne Johnson as they did with Brendan Fraser, but since the WWE champion was the essence of the franchise, the studio seemingly refused to take the risk. They rather let the promising franchise die, than replace Johnson. But considering that the studio had difficulty coming up with a solid script, indicates it might have been a good thing that Journey 3 didn’t happen.