In a major coup for Amazon Studios, Dwayne Johnson has agreed to star in the action-comedy Red One, which will reunite Johnson with Fast and Furious scribe Chris Morgan, who also wrote Hobbs & Shaw.
Though plot details are being kept under wraps, the fact that the globetrotting story takes place during the holidays seems to indicate that Santa Claus is involved somehow. Amazon executives supposedly see Red One as the kind of four-quadrant movie that could launch not just a franchise, but a line of merchandise as well.
Morgan will write the script and produce alongside Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, the latter of whom conceived the original story for Red One. The movie stands in stark contrast to most Amazon projects and falls more in line with the streamer’s pricey testosterone-fueled acquisitions such as Without Remorse and The Tomorrow War — both of which hail from Skydance.
“Red One is incredibly special to me and a story I’ve wanted to tell for years. An epic, edge-of-your-seat, action-adventure [movie] that takes beloved holiday mythology and turns it on its head. I’m thrilled to have our Seven Bucks team join forces with Amazon to bring this fun holiday tale to life for a global audience,” Hiram Garcia said in a statement.
“Hold my Mana, because this is exciting,” added Johnson, referencing his liquor brand (again). “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.”
“Seven Bucks Productions is a leader in creating unique and compelling entertainment for the entire family, and we know Red One will continue that tradition,” said Salke. “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 in a competitive bidding situation, and production is currently slated to start next year so that Red One will be ready for release during the 2023 holiday season. Amazon boss Salke has been tasked with making more commercial films and television shows, which is why the streamer paid top dollar to acquire the hot comedy sequels Borat 2 and Coming 2 America.
Johnson is currently filming the DC movie Black Adam, and he’ll soon be seen opposite Emily Blunt in Disney‘s Jungle Cruise. Johnson also has the Netflix action movie Red Notice on the horizon, but despite having a title similar to Red One, I don’t believe Santa Claus is in that film even though I do expect it to be released this holiday season. Coming on the heels of two Jumanji movies, I suppose December is just reserved for Dwayne. I’m sure he’d drink to that…
via Collider