For a man who dubbed himself ‘Franchise Viagra’ and then went on to prove it by lending his name to several properties that instantly experienced a huge jump in box office takings, Dwayne Johnson hasn’t starred in nearly as many sequels as his reputation would have you believe.
In fact, he’s only ever played three characters on more than one occasion, and he’s also never had a multi-film series built entirely around his star power. Johnson boarded The Mummy, Fast & Furious, Journey, G.I. Joe and Jumanji franchises after the first installments, while his big budget star vehicles like Hercules, Rampage, San Andreas and Skyscraper didn’t get sequels, or at least they haven’t yet.
Insider Daniel Richtman is claiming, though, that the 48 year-old wants to revive and feature in another older brand with built-in nostalgia value, similar to how Jumanji morphed from a beloved Robin Williams family film into a $150 million action comedy that raked in close to a billion dollars at the box office.
“The Rock wants to revive and star in other nostalgic franchise like he did with Jumanji he is now searching for the next one,” says Richtman.
Of course, Sony went to Johnson with the idea of Jumanji and not the other way round, with the actor not entering talks to star in the project until April 2016, over four years after it first entered development. Then again, he’s a powerhouse producer in his own right through his Seven Bucks banner, and has more than enough clout to do pretty much whatever he wants at this stage.
That being said, as the hardest worker in the room, there are going to be scheduling conflicts to overcome if Dwayne Johnson wants to add another franchise to his plate. Jungle Cruise and Red Notice might be in the can and awaiting release, but Black Adam shoots soon, while sequels to Jumanji: The Next Level and Hobbs & Shaw are on the cards as well. Not to mention he’s also got comic book adaptation Ball & Chain set up at Netflix with Emily Blunt.
