Dwayne Johnson has shared some behind-the-scenes images from his upcoming holiday-themed film, Red One, and he's making some very intriguing comparisons for the direction the movie is taking. "Shooting our new Christmas franchise Red One," Johnson said, alongside images of production. "Think JUMANJI meets MIRACLE ON 34TH ST meets HOBBS & SHAW with a dash of HARRY POTTER & ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE."
The production photos show Johnson performing - massive, muscular stunts, no doubt - against a blue-screen backdrop on what certainly appears to be a spaceship, and another of him running along a pier. What the blue-screen will be showing when the finished product is ready remains to be seen - the plot continues to remain curiously vague at the time of writing. What we do know is that Johnson's superhero-ish red and black costume suggests he will be acting as some sort of spy or enforcer for Santa Claus himself, which is obviously a vital role around the festive season, given how much happiness depends on the success of Saint Nick's once-a-year trip around the world.
Red One has previously been described as "a globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy, imagining a whole new universe to explore within the holiday genre." Alongside Johnson, the film will also include the likes of Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J.K. Simmons, Nick Kroll, Bonnie Hunt and Kiernan Shipka. Jake Kasdan, a trusted colleague of Johnson having previously taken charge of the wildly successful Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level, directs from a script written by Chris Morgan, who penned numerous movies from the Fast & Furious universe, including Hobbs & Shaw, to which Johnson has, of course, compared this movie.
The original idea for the movie came from Hiram Garcia, the President of Production at Seven Bucks Productions and Johnson's former brother-in-law. Johnson is currently riding the crest of the Black Adam wave, having given the wrestler-turned-Hollywood superstar the biggest opening weekend of his career - however, the film's progress does seem to be slowing massively and perhaps hasn't hit the heights he would have wanted. Johnson has previously been called 'franchise viagra' for his success in turning around failing franchises, so it remains to be seen whether he can prop up an original offering of his own.
Red One is set to launch on Prime Video during the 2023 holiday season, offering some big-money competition to the usual offerings from Netflix set in a Scottish castle or Hallmark's sleepy Middle America towns.