[Update May 15: As forewarned below, Netflix has acquired Ball and Chain starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. “Dwayne and Emily have a chemistry together that is unmatched in our business right now. They are the perfect duo to bring Emily V. Gordon’s electric superhero story to life, and take the world of Ball and Chain to new heights,” Netflix's Scott Stuber told the Hollywood Reporter. Our original story is below.]
Jungle Cruise co-stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt had such a good time on the set of that big-budget Disney movie that they're ready to get divorced... in a new project titled Ball and Chain that studios are already lining up to acquire.
Deadline reports that Oscar-nominated writer Emily V. Gordon (The Big Sick) has adapted the four-part comic of the same name from writer Scott Lobdell and artists Ale Garza and Richard Bennett. Kevin Misher (Fighting With My Family) will produce alongside Johnson and his Seven Bucks partners Dany and Hiram Garcia, while Blunt will produce as well. Several studios have already made bids on the red-hot package, though Netflix appears to be the current frontrunner.
Johnson and Blunt will play Edgar and Mallory Bulson, who have decided to throw in the towel and split up once and for all when a mysterious meteor ends up giving them superpowers. The twist? They only work in tandem together. The Bulsons have to learn to put their differences aside and work together to save their marriage, and some other people too.
You can clearly see the appeal there, especially with two major movie stars like Johnson and Blunt attached to star. Plus, it looks like they actually have some chemistry in those Jungle Cruise trailers. Of course, this is the kind of movie they might've made in the late '80s and early '90s, except back then, the studio wouldn't have needed the characters to have superpowers, but hey, times change, and it's hard to ignore the allure of this cross between Hancock and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Jungle Cruise was supposed to open on July 24 but saw its release pushed all the way to next summer, as Disney will now release Mulan on its old date. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Blunt also saw her horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II pushed off its original March release date, while Johnson's Netflix movie Red Notice was forced to suspend production. Hollywood is still figuring out how and when it will return to work once restrictions are lifted, but studios are already lining up projects like Ball and Chain given how quickly stars' schedules are expected to fill up once production resumes.
To watch the latest trailer for Jungle Cruise, click here.