Filmmaker JJ Abrams will team with actor and entrepreneur Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on a mystery project coming soon, according to a social media post by Johnson. The star shared an image of himself, along with Abrams and two other men. The caption teased that the project they’re launching was “years in the making” and “from the mind of Zak Penn.” Based on that last part, it seems as though the project will be a new IP, rather than something adapted from existing media, but…that’s it. That’s all we know so far.
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Johnson is one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, although the exact scale of his success tends to be really variable. He can have modest hits like Rampage and Skyscraper in between blockbusters like Jumanji and Fate of the Furious. In spite of that inconsistency, he’s seen as one of the few big-name stars in Hollywood who can get a movie greenlit just by signing on for it.
Abrams, meanwhile, has shepherded a number of iconic film and TV projects over the last 30 years. As the head of his own studio, Bad Robot, Abrams has operated more as a behind-the-scenes producer over the last few years, although his name was prominently featured on the animated series Batman: Caped Crusader, which he developed for Warner Bros. with Matt Reeves and Bruce Timm.
Abrams has an overall deal with Warner Bros., who produced Black Adam, Rampage, and San Andreas with Johnson.
Zak Penn has his own star power, although obviously not quite as much as Johnson or Abrams. The writer wrote or co-wrote The Incredible Hulk, X2: X-Men United, and got a story credit for Marvel’s The Avengers. His most recent screenwriting credit was for Free Guy, which starred Johnson’s Red Notice co-star Ryan Reynolds.
Because Abrams has made numerous runs at a superhero project over the years, some are wondering whether he and Johnson might be planning to take on a comic book adaptation (“…from the writer of X2 and The Avengers” could certainly be appealing on such a trailer), but there’s no evidence to that, and if it is true, it’s unlikely the project would be at Marvel or DC Studios.
If Abrams is directing, it’s likely he is looking for another big popcorn franchise to be a sure-fire hit after the disappointment of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the last movie he directed. While Johnson has had some recent flops (most notably Black Adam), he has Red One, Moana 2, and one more Fast & Furious movie coming up, suggesting that he’s doing just fine for now.
Keep your eyes on ComicBook for more details on…whatever this turns out to be.
