‘Red One’: Release Facing Delay Due to Dwayne Johnson’s Habitual Tardiness!!

With the exception of a cameo in the mid-credits of Fast X, Dwayne Johnson hasn’t been seen in a movie since the disappointing Black Adam. He is set to be heard in the November release of Moana 2, which will coincide with his return to appearing on screens in Red One — but that was not originally the plan. Red One, a Christmas movie, was initially meant to debut exclusively on Amazon at the end of 2023. An announcement was made last year that the film would instead be coming to theaters in November 2024, citing delays due to the 2023 WGA/SAG-Aftra strikes. But there seems to be more going on. Recent reporting has suggested there might be something, or someone, holding the film back increasing its budget, putting the film between a hard place and a… rock.

What Is ‘Red One’ About?

Red One is a Christmas action movie centered on Dwayne Johnson teaming up with Chris Evans on a mission to rescue a kidnapped Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons.) Johnson will also be reuniting with Jake Kasdan, who directed him in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level. Johnson also enlisted Chris Morgan to pen the script, having worked with him on Fast Five, Fast Six, Furious Seven, and Hobbs & Shaw. With it being produced by Johnson‘s Seven Buck Productions, it seemingly has all the right ingredients for a fun action movie. There’s just one issue: Johnson reportedly hasn’t been showing up.

The Rock Reportedly Has Been Showing Up Late to the Set of ‘Red One’

In a recent article published by The Wrap, writer Umberto Gonzalez went into extensive detail about the production of Red One and how it is suffering at the hands of Johnson‘s behavior. Gonzalez quotes inside sources close to the production who claim “Johnson was late an average of seven to eight hours per day” and not showing up at all some days, forcing scenes to be shot around him. Although some close to Seven Bucks have said this has been exaggerated, Gonzalez mentioned that Johnson‘s involvement with the sitcom Young Rock, working with the XFL minor football league, and promoting Black Adam delayed the start of the film’s production entirely. Though Amazon has denied it, Johnson‘s actions have reportedly caused the budget of the film to swell to an additional $50 million (totaling $250 million.) But Johnson is only enabled by those around him.

Part of the reason Red One is in more noticeable hot water than other Dwayne Johnson productions, Gonzalez notes, is the people surrounding Johnson and the production. Executives at Amazon MGM, Julie Rapaport and Glenn Gainor, former executives at The Weinstein Company and Sony Pictures respectively, are accused of inexperience in handling such major productions by one of Gonzalez‘s sources. The Source, a “veteran production insider” who worked on the movie said the executives came from much smaller movies at one-tenth of Red One‘s $200 million budget and brushed off problems that arose, confident they could handle it. Alongside them is the film’s producer, Hiram Garcia.

Garcia conceived the idea for Red One, but before that, he had been working as Johnson‘s assistant since 2002’s The Scorpion King. After over a decade as an assistant, Garcia was given control of Seven Bucks Production. Despite this, Gonzalez‘s sources tell stories of Garcia mostly only being adept at handling Johnson‘s projects, and that he is not as skilled at actually producing movies. One source said, “[Garcia] should have picked up on how to keep track of a schedule and budget, but I haven’t seen him take any interest in doing that.” Garcia acting as producer on Red One clearly has been more of a means to keep Johnson happy. But the writing has been on the wall for years before Red One.

Dwayne Johnson Has a History of Odd On-Set Behaviour

A mogul dedicated to his daily three-hour workouts, Johnson has made a habit of being late. The Wrap article details keeping the large crews of his HBO show Ballers and 2018’s Rampage waiting as he was regularly four to five hours late. Gonzalez reports that Johnson‘s lack of prioritizing the film’s production has caused problems with high-profile co-stars like Vin Diesel and Ryan Reynolds (on the Fast & Furious franchise and Red Notice respectively.) He also did not play well with others during his involvement in the DC Universe, with Gonzalez reporting that Johnson and Garcia attempted a coup on DC from former head Walter Hamada before James Gunn and Peter Safran were involved. This adds insult to injury with Johnson‘s refusal to take part in a cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Johnson also seems to lack professionalism at every stage of production. The Wrap article reports that crew hired for productions like Red Notice would often be used to shoot promotional shoots for Johnson‘s XFL league and liquor brand Teremana. During the production of Red Notice, Johnson allegedly ignored the strenuous COVID protocols in place to take his private jet home and host gatherings for family and friends (resulting in his exposure to the virus.) Johnson was even accused by a former production assistant of refusing to leave set for bathroom breaks, and instead peeing in empty Voss water bottles and handing them to PAs to dispose of them. While sources close to Johnson have denied these claims, Johnson did mention this as a habit during his workouts in the past.

What Does This Mean for Dwayne Johnson’s Career?

Movie stars are famously known for massive egos and erratic behavior that can impact the final film itself. But rarely do they simply not show up at all. While he does regularly appear in movies, they are mostly catered to him. He works with the same directors, Brad Peyton and Rawson Marshal Thurber in addition to Kasdan, to make movies with characters indistinguishable from one another. Despite being a movie star, he feels the need to have an HBO, then host a reality competition show (The Titan Games), and then create a sitcom all about his younger self. He has a football league, a tequila, a liquor brand, and an energy drink he promotes all while squeezing in a three-hour daily workout?! As Patrick Willems surmised in his excellent video essay, Johnson seems more preoccupied with becoming a brand than making movies.

But maybe that’s changing. Last summer Johnson made an insanely generous donation to the SAG-AFTRA relief fund supporting those on strike. In the past few months, he confirmed his return to Moana 2, and he will also be reprising his Maui role in the live-action Moana remake. The remake will put him under the direction of Hamilton director Thomas Kail, which is a welcome change. He is also teaming up with Benny Safdie, co-director of Uncut Gems, to make an A24-produced biopic of UFC wrestler Mark Kerr. On announcing the role, Johnson said “I’m at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I’ve not pushed myself in the past. I’m at a point in my career where I want to make films that matter, that explore humanity and explore struggle [and] pain.” Hopefully, Johnson is true to his word and shows up for set on time for Safdie‘s The Smashing Machine when it starts shooting later this year.