Dwayne Johnson is teaming up once again with director Jake Kasdan for John Henry and the Statesmen, which Netflix just grabbed the rights to, according to Deadline.
Kasdan helmed 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which also starred Johnson. The actor and his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia are producing the project alongside Kasdan, with the help of Beau Flynn of FlynnPictureCo.
“Dwayne is a global superstar, inarguably one of the most popular actors in the world,” Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, told Deadline. “He and Jake are a tremendous duo with a proven track record of entertaining audiences worldwide. We’re delighted to be able to partner with them and collaborate with Seven Bucks Productions and FPC. This is a story with universal appeal and we can’t wait to bring these characters to families around the globe.”
The movie is based on an original pitch from The Lego Ninjago Movie writer Tom Wheeler. Johnson, who'll play John Henry in the folklore flick, will lead a reportedly diverse ensemble cast, and though there aren’t too many other details about this project, it’s being regarded as a big win for Netflix.
“Netflix is the perfect partner and platform for us to continue entertaining our global audience in a disruptive way,” Johnson said. “These diverse characters speak to a legacy of storytelling that is more relevant than ever and span across a worldwide audience regardless of age, gender, race or geography.”
Seven Bucks and FlynnPictureCo. have a ton of Johnson-led films currently in their wheelhouse. They just finished filming Jungle Cruise, which stars Emily Blunt and Johnson and will soon be producing Red Notice, an action thriller starring him and Wonder Woman Gal Gadot. Johnson will also star in the Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs and Shaw and Sony's Jumanji sequel.
