As if Rampage wasn’t already a testimony to Dwayne Johnson’s burgeoning star power in Tinsel Town, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the Ballers star is attached to frontline a Jungle Cruise movie for Disney, to be based on the company’s titular theme park attraction.
The small task of adapting a classic ride for the big-screen will be handled by Focus and Crazy Stupid Love alumni John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, who are on board to pen the film’s screenplay. No word yet on a director, though there is a slim chance that Requa and Ficarra may assume that responsibility for themselves.
Disney have long been trying to wrangle Jungle Cruise and its history into a feature film, with both Tom Hanks and Tim Allen attached to star at one point. For one reason or another, the project has failed to get off the ground, though Johnston’s casting is the biggest sign of the wheels beginning to ache into motion to date.
Featuring a retro adventure set-up, it’s understood that Disney’s feature will be a period piece, channeling the African and South American sensibilites from the attraction to create a movie that will likely bear some semblance to Johnson’s globe-trotting adventures in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – though hopefully with more success.
As easy as it is to be skeptical about Disney’s decision to adopt Jungle Cruise into a feature film, the mega-company struck gold – pardon the pun – with its Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Plus, Ryan Gosling is currently attached to topline a Haunted Mansion movie for the House of Mouse, so it’s clear we’re beginning to see the trend come back to the fore.
With Johnson’s schedule packed to the brim with Central Intelligence, HBO’s Ballers and soon Baywatch, don’t expect Jungle Cruise to begin production in earnest until at least mid-2016.
