Dwayne Johnson Shares First Image From Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine
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Image: © Netflix
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has shared a first look at his role in Benny Safdie’s solo directorial debut The Smashing Machine.
Johnson will star in the biographical sports drama as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, who won over two dozen MMA titles during his career. Kerr also faced struggles with addiction and his marriage to Dawn Staples, who will be played by Emily Blunt.
Safdie has frequently collaborated with his brother Josh. His previous director credits include Good Time (2017) starring Robert Pattinson and Uncut Gems (2019) starring Adam Sandler. He has also appeared as an actor in films such as Oppenheimer (2023) alongside Blunt, and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023).
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The Smashing Machine will be partly inspired by the ESPN documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr (2002).
Variety reports that Safdie and Johnson first discussed the film in 2019, but plans were delayed due to the pandemic. Distributor A24 describes the film as Johnson’s “most dramatic project and role yet.”
Johnson told Variety “I want to be clear not to say that this is an abandonment of big, four-quadrant movies. I love making them, and there is tremendous value and importance in [them] … but there’s a time and a place for them. I’m at this point in my career where I want more. And I don’t mean I want more box office. I mean I want more humanity.”
The film reunites Blunt and Johnson, who previously starred together in Disney’s Jungle Cruise (2021).
Additionally, boxer Oleksandr Usyk will star as the Ukrainian MMA fighter Igor Vovchanchyn. Usyk recently defeated Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. He is the first boxer in history to hold all four major world titles.
No release date for The Smashing Machine has been confirmed.
