Dwayne Johnson cited several convincing reasons as to why he immediately jumped at the opportunity to star in Disney’s Jungle Cruise.
CBR was privy to Johnson’s comments when he explained at a press conference the reasoning behind his choice to lead the cast of the blockbuster film, which was adapted from the Disney theme park attraction. The deciding factors for him, besides the allure of the riverboat amusement ride, were the often-mentioned trio of facets that actors consider when picking their next project: script, director and co-star.
As Johnson stated, “the script was in a really good place. I immediately just saw the potential of the opportunity, and that opportunity was to take a beloved and iconic Disney ride, since 1955 when the park opened. This was Walt Disney’s baby.” Development of the film began after the worldwide success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, leading to a plan to have Tom Hanks or Tim Allen head the cast. Once that venture failed to pan out, Johnson signed on in 2015 to play Skipper Frank Wolff.
“There were a lot of elements that I felt comfortable with saying, ‘Yes, I will come on board. I’ll partner with you guys, and we will develop this thing,'” Johnson continued. “We got it to a really great place. And again, to bring it back around to Emily [Blunt], the next step after Jaume [Collet-Serra], finding our director, was finding my co-star.” Calling her the “female Indiana Jones,” Johnson has shared much of the movie’s promotion with Blunt, who joined the production shortly after her co-star.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, Jungle Cruise is now playing in theaters and available on Disney+ Premier Access.
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