Netflix Casts Dwayne Johnson in “John Henry and the Statesman”

Netflix has gained the rights to John Henry and the Statesman, an original pitch from the writer Tom Wheeler, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is signed on to star.

Netflix recently won the rights in a large bidding war among many of the major studios.

The director of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Jake Kasdan, is signed on to head the films production.

Dwayne Johnson made a post on his Instagram teasing the project and his excitement for it. Its caption contains some remarks about the story and its production.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND. Inspired to bring to life one of my childhood heroes, John Henry, in JOHN HENRY & THE STATESMEN. In this movie, I’ll lead an ensemble of the most popular folklore figures and legends from different cultures around the world. @NETFLIX is the perfect partner & platform to bring these global folklore icons to life. The NETFLIX brand speaks directly to our @sevenbucksprod ethos of being bold, ambitious and game changing – and most importantly, always thinking “Audience first” in homes all around the world. The legend of JOHN HENRY’S strength, endurance, dignity and cultural pride was instilled in my DNA at a very young age. My dad would sing “Big John” to me every time he would put me to bed. At bedtime most children get loving nursery rhyme songs — I got this/ Every mornin’ at the mine, you could see him arrive. He stood 6 foot 6 and weighed 245. Kind of broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip. And everybody knew you didn’t give no lip to Big John. Big John. Big Bad John. Directing this big ol’ tentpole is the talented and passionate, Jake Kasdan. Jake and I found nice success together in a little movie called, JUMANJI. Gonna be a lot of fun bringing these legends to life. My childhood hero. The steel driving man and his disruptive band of international folklore legends. JOHN HENRY & THE STATESMEN @sevenbucksprod @danygarciaco @hhgarcia41 @flynnpictureco @NETFLIX

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Oct 9, 2018 at 11:50am PDT

Johnson went on to talk a bit about the project, stating..

“Netflix is the perfect partner and platform to bring these global folklore icons to life.”

“These diverse characters speak to a legacy of storytelling that is more relevant than ever and span across a worldwide audience regardless of age, gender race, or geography.”

Dwayne continues to say..

“Directing this big ol’ tentpole is the talented and passionate, Jake Kasdan. Jake and I found nice success together on a little movie called Jumanji. Gonna be a lot of fun bringing these legends to life.”

The head of film at Netflix, Scott Stuber, took the time to comment on the project eluding to the point that Dwayne is unarguably a global superstar, and that him and Jake are proven to work well together after entertaining massive audiences around the globe. An example of the pairs success is obviously Jumanji, which received a gross profit $962 million dollars worldwide.

We’re really excited to see such a great story getting it’s time on the big screen, especially with stars like Dwayne Johnson at the forefront, and Dwayne is definitely excited to bring his ‘childhood hero’ to life.

What’re your thoughts on the project? Let us know in the comments section!

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Source: Variety/Instagram

Liam Bentley

Liam Bentley has been writing about video games, movies, tv and more for Goliath since 2018.