Martin Scorsese has chosen Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to lead his new movie about a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss. Even if you ignore the fact that the wrestler is of Samoan descent instead of Hawaiian, this development is still bonkers.
Scorsese is largely considered the herald of prestige cinema, while Johnson is, well, the opposite. While this is in no way meant to be judgmental towards fans of either of their filmographies, one need only take a quick look at that list to notice the stark difference in thematic richness, technical movie making, and acting quality. As a result, this collaboration could not be more unexpected.
Still, if we accept that the Italian American director usually makes thoughtful decisions when casting his films, then we have to accept that tapping the least talented wrestler-turned-actor in the Bautista-Cena-Johnson line up was a smart move too. Maybe The Rock isn’t as one-note as his extensive slate of strong-man action heroes has led us to believe, and he’s just been one good director short of greatness this whole time.
According to Deadline, the project is still only at the pitch stage and shopping for backers. Besides the 52-year-old, also attached are Johnson’s Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt and Scorsese mainstay Leonardo DiCaprio. The outlet reports that it was Johnson and Blunt, who are pairing up again for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine coming later this year, who brought the project to Scorsese and DiCaprio. They then decided to enlist writer Nick Bilton.
As for the plot, well, it’s as Scorsese as they come. Another mafia movie set in the 1960s and ’70s, this time centered around the Hawaiian criminal underbelly. Deadline’s description also mentions richer themes surrounding the fight to preserve the island from mainland corporations, which is more in line with Scorsese’s most recent Oscar nominated epic, Killers of the Flower Moon. Johnson’s character reportedly resembles Robert De Niro’s Goodfellas protagonist.
Imagine if The Rock actually delivers a De Niro level performance… The entire tissue of the film world as we know it would be torn beyond repair. Though, who knows, maybe the tapestry woven in its place could be a better, more interesting alternative where the separation between muscle and brain is no longer as definitive.
Could Scorsese even consider warming up to superhero movies or, as he calls them, “theme park pictures”? No, sorry, yeah, I realized how insane that sounded the minute I wrote it. But, hey! You would have called me insane a few days ago, too, if I told you Scorsese was making a movie with Dwayne Johnson and didn’t have Deadline to back me up.
Reactions, of course, ranged from disbelief to flat out rejection of the idea. “We just letting anybody work with The Greats???” one person questioned on X, referencing Tom Holland’s role in Christopher Nolan’s new The Odyseey movie and Ice Spice’s involvement in the next Spike Lee joint. “Perhaps the most insane movie news headline of 2025,” another observed. The rest of the year sure has plenty to compete with after this wild first couple of months.
As it’s only in the early development stages, there isn’t even a probable release window for the Scorsese/Johnson film at this stage. The director, however, has his plate full, with reports of a movie about Jesus, one about Frank Sinatra, and a handful of book adaptations emerging in the years since Killers. Scorsese has spoken frequently about having limited time left to make movies and having to make choices that benefit his family. If working with The Rock is what the 82-year-old maestro wants to spend his days doing, then who are we to judge him for it?
