A lot of Dwayne Johnson‘s movie career has mimicked Bruce Willis, so how about adding a Christmas action movie to Johnson’s resume?
The wrestler-turned-actor has signed on to star in Red One for Amazon, which will reunite him with Fast And Furious scribe Chris Morgan, who also wrote the Johnson-centric spinoff Hobbs & Shaw.
Plot details are sparse, but we know it’s a globetrotting story that takes place during the holidays. There’s a pretty good bet that Christmas is heavily involved. Reportedly, Amazon executives see Red One as the kind of four-quadrant movie that could launch not just a franchise, but a line of merchandise as well.
Those are pretty lofty expectations for a holiday-themed action movie, so maybe this is less Die Hard and something with a wider demographical appeal. Morgan will write the script and produce alongside Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, the latter of whom also conceived the original story.
Amazon surely do have a plan, but they often seem to become enamoured with a certain genre for a while before moving on to something new. Right now that genre is action, and Red One is similar to the recent action projects the streamer acquired from other studios – the recently released Without Remorse and the soon-to-be-released The Tomorrow War.
Johnson said in a statement: “Our Seven Bucks is very bullish on our partnership with Amazon Studios; underpinned with some innovation, some pioneering and a lot of positive energy and passion. I’ve been very impressed with Jen Salke and her team’s vision and ambition to create an enormous, fun and unique Red One holiday universe for families around the world to enjoy”.
Salke added: “Hiram’s concept and the world he’s envisioned are uniquely original and we are so excited to team with Seven Bucks Productions and Chris Morgan to help bring it to life. Red One is just the first step in what we know will be a successful, collaborative venture”.
Amazon landed the project after coming out on top in a bidding war. Production is slated to begin next year, with the film planned for a 2023 holiday release.
We’ll now wait for clearer plot details to arrive. Johnson’s a movie star, but that means less than it ever did, and it’s a big ask for a holiday action film to be the sort of four-quadrant, heavy merchandise franchise Amazon execs are hoping for. We’ll see.
Johnson will next be seen opposite Emily Blunt in Disney’s Jungle Cruise, while he also has the Netflix action movie Red Notice coming soon. He’s also currently filming DC superhero movie, Black Adam.
#Peace.Love.RedOne
