‘Free Byrd’: Dwayne Johnson to Play Stuntman Evel Knievel in New Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Produced Feature!!

Undaunted by the disappointing reception of The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson has set his sights on another challenging role. The Moana star is teaming with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon‘s production company to star in an actioner with a twist. Free Byrd will star Johnson as a stunt cyclist with a terrible secret.

According to reports, Johnson will play a Las Vegas motorcycle stuntman, a la the late Evel Knievel, who’s just been diagnosed with dementia. Keeping his diagnosis from everyone, including his mechanic brother, he sets out to secure his legacy with one last death-defying jump. Johnson calls the film “emblematic of life’s sacred beauty, as well as life’s harsh and callous reality.” He’s partnering with Artists Equity, the production company founded by longtime friends and collaborators Affleck and Damon, to make the film; it will be directed by Greg Kwedar, the Sing Sing director who landed an Academy Award nomination for his script for Train Dreams last year.

Where Can Dwayne Johnson Be Seen Next?

Johnson will hit theaters this Friday in Moana, the live-action adaptation of the 2016 animated Disney hit; as in the original, Johnson will play the vainglorious shape-shifting demigod Maui, albeit in the flesh this time. He’ll also appear in the third installment of the animated franchise, which is now in development. This holiday season, he’ll reprise his role as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, the video game avatar of timid teenager Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff) and others, in Jumanji: Open World, the third and final film in the trilogy of legacy sequels to the 1995 hit. He’ll return as Luke Hobbs in the franchise-capper Fast Forever, the apparent conclusion to the Fast and Furious saga, which is now in production. On a more offbeat note, he also plans to star as the Chicken Man, an elderly street performer who gets wrapped up in a secret reptilian society in Lizard Music, an adaptation of the cult classic Daniel Pinkwater novel from The Smashing Machine director Bennie Safdie.

In addition to directing, Kwedar will also rewrite the screenplay for Free Byrd. It began life as a script by Jon Boyer that landed on the Black List; it was subsequently rewritten by The Peanut Butter Falcon‘s Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson. It will be produced by Gil Netter, Kwedar and Clint Bentley for Ethos, and Johnson for Seven Bucks Productions; it is a production of Fifth Season.