Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt clearly hit it off on the set of Disney blockbuster Jungle Cruise, with the duo signing on to play a husband-and-wife duo in Netflix comic book adaptation Ball and Chain last year, which focuses on a bickering married couple who gain superpowers from a meteor that forces them to stick together and hash out their differences.
All the footage we’ve seen so far from the Mouse House’s latest big budget epic based on an iconic theme park attraction showcases the crackling chemistry between the action hero and his Golden Globe winning counterpart, and it’s pretty obvious the studio are hoping Jungle Cruise will become the next Pirates of the Caribbean based on the numerous superficial similarities between the two, even if several previous attempts to replicate the formula all failed at the first hurdle.
Production on Jaume Collet-Serra’s adventure initially wrapped all the way back in September 2018, but the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic have Jungle Cruise coming to theaters and Disney Plus Premiere Access on July 30th. Johnson and Blunt are evidently thrilled to be back in each other’s company to promote the movie, and in a new interview the actress explained why she’s taken to calling the hulking ex-wrestler Toots.
“Toots has been around now for three years. I used to enjoy calling him very, sort of sweet, cute things. Like he texts me, ‘Alright, I’m leaving now, I’ll see you on set’, and I’m like, ‘Okay, cupcake’.”
The idea of a man the size of Dwayne Johnson coming running when Emily Blunt calls him either Toots or Cupcake is as bizarre as it is hilarious, but it’s not like The Rock is above showing off his more sensitive side on occasion. If the rapport between the stars translates to the screen, then Jungle Cruise promises to be a whole lot of fun, and might even launch a money-spinning franchise depending on how it fares commercially.
