The Rock and director of ‘Jumanji’ will make a Netflix original movie

Dwayne
Johnson.
Rich Polk/Getty Images for
Entertainment Weekly

• Dwayne Johnson and his production company are on board with
  the Netflix movie, “John Henry and The Statesmen.”
• Johnson will be playing the title role as the steel-driver
  folk hero.
• Jake Kasdan, who directed Johnson in Sony’s hit “Jumanji:
  Welcome to the Jungle,” will be at the helm.

The Rock has found his way to Netflix. 

On Tuesday, the streaming giant announced that it will be making
a movie with Dwayne Johnson titled “John Henry and The
Statesmen,” adding to the dozen projects he already has on his
calendar. 

The movie is being touted as a “family action adventure,” and
will star Johnson as John Henry, the steel-driver folk hero, who
will lead an ensemble of popular legends from around the
world. 

The movie will be directed by Johnson’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the
Jungle” director Jake Kasdan.

Netflix bought the original pitch from “The Lego Ninjago Movie”
screenwriter Tom Wheeler, and Johnson will also be a producer on
the movie with his Seven Bucks Productions, along with his
company’s longtime collaborator Beau Flynn at FlynnPictureCo.,
according to the release. 

“Netflix is the perfect partner and platform for us to continue
entertaining our global audience in a disruptive way,” Johnson
said in the release. “These diverse characters speak to a legacy
of storytelling that is more relevant than ever and span across a
worldwide audience regardless of age, gender, race or geography.”

Johnson adds to the growing list of movie stars — Brad Pitt, Will
Smith, Adam Sandler, Emma Stone, and Jonah Hill — who are running
to Netflix because of the company’s deep pockets, collaborative
nature with stars, and global reach. 

The release did not state when “John Henry” will go into
production, and that’s probably because Johnson is so busy making
other things. It will be interesting to see where he can fit this
in.

Johnson has just wrapped on the Disney “Jungle Cruise” movie and
he’s now going into production on the “Fast and Furious” spin-off
for Universal, “Hobbs and Shaw.”