During the Jungle Cruise press tour, it was revealed that Dwayne Johnson had welcomed Emily Blunt into his inner circle of regular creative collaborators that already includes the likes of Kevin Hart, Ryan Reynolds, producer Beau Flynn, writer Chris Morgan and directors Brad Peyton, Jaume Collet-Serra and Rawson Marshall Thurber.
The two already attached themselves to Netflix comic book adaptation Ball & Chain last year, but it’s now been revealed that Johnson’s Seven Bucks are set to produce a new starring vehicle for Blunt that’s been acquired by Amazon, which is described as a propulsive period-set action adventure story with a basis in real life. Seven Bucks’ Kimberly Bialek, Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia, Kristina Sorensen Productions and Blunt are also part of the producorial team, the latter via Ledbury Productions, with Gustin Nash additionally listed as executive producer.
As per the announcement, Blunt will star as Kate Warne, the first woman to become a detective at the Pinkerton Agency after joining the organization in 1856. During her career in law enforcement, Warne not only overcame the stigma of being a rare female presence in a male-dominated industry, but her skills changed the way detective work was carried out forever.
Warne worked a number of high profile cases before, during and after the Civil War, garnering no small amount of fame and notoriety in the process, and it sounds like the ideal canvas for Blunt to weave her acting ability, movie star charisma to proven action hero credentials into the fabric of what surely has the potential to be a multi-film series.
Up until recently, Seven Bucks only really tended to produce projects that Johnson starred in, but the outfit is clearly diversifying by adding the Kate Warne project to a slate that recently gained Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s high concept actioner Emergency Contact, while The Rock is also partnering up with Amazon onscreen for festive blockbuster Red One.