Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has quickly established himself as the go-to action-comedy star of recent years, with starring turns in such motion picture productions as the Fast & Furious franchise and next month’s Central Intelligence. Since first breaking into the Hollywood acting scene in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t acknowledge Johnson’s talent in front of the camera and outside of his former role as an all-star wrestler in the WWE from the late 1990s.
Following his forthcoming buddy cop turn with comic actor Kevin Hart in director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s Central Intelligence this June, it would appear as though Johnson and Thurber are looking to develop a brand new action-thriller called Skyscraper together: a project that has been described as being akin to Die Hard in China. On that note, the production does appear to be coming into fruition with a major studio officially attached.
According to THR, Legendary has just secured the production rights to Skyscraper in a monumental seven-figure deal that saw intense competition from the likes of Sony and Paramount, with the film’s script alone being secured for a grand total of $3 million. The movie will star Johnson in the lead role with Thawson attached to write and direct, and producer Beau Flynn (Baywatch) also on board. Universal will distribute the film according to a deal made with Legendary.
Skyscraper is described as being about a mega-skyscraper that comes under fire in China, with close thematic ties to such films as the aforementioned Bruce Willis classic Die Hard and the 1974 disaster movie Towering Inferno (starring Paul Newman and Steve McQueen) already established by Thurber. With any luck, things will pan out for Johnson and Thurber, and Skyscraper could result in another highly original intellectual property for Johnson to lend his decided action/comedy chops to.
In the mean time, viewers can begin anticipating Thurber and Johnson’s action-comedy Central Intelligence, and start pondering over the level of mayhem and action that is soon to come from the duo’s forthcoming action-thriller. Legendary certainly appears certain that Skyscraper will prove to be a big hit with general audiences, and with any luck fans of the film’s star will agree when the production finally gets underway and reaches general audiences sometime within the next couple of years.
There’s been no shortage of Johnson on the big screen of late, and Skyscraper could very well become the movie to launch him into the upper echelons of action hero stature shared by the likes of such all-stars as Bruce Willis, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen.
Screen Rant will keep you updated on all information related to Skyscraper.
Source: THR
