The world knows Dwayne Johnson is a busy man. The guy goes from project to project seamlessly, the majority of which he produces through his Seven Bucks Productions banner. But it’s Hiram Garcia who has to keep all of Seven Bucks’ projects straight as president of production, producing films like Jungle Cruise, Black Adam, and Hobbs & Shaw.
I recently spoke with Garcia at length for an exclusive interview in which we touched on, well, almost everything that’s currently in active development at Seven Bucks. I’ve already shared what Garcia had to say about the production of Jungle Cruise, how Black Adam will upend the DC universe, why the original holiday movie Red One could be Johnson's next movie, and more. And now it’s time to share the final piece from my conversation with Garcia, which covers updates on a number of other projects.
One of those is Jumanji 3. The sequel/reboot Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a massive hit, spawning another successful sequel in Jumanji: The Next Level. Garcia said a further sequel is still in development, as he and the Seven Bucks team are collaborating with director Jake Kasdan and producer Matt Tolmach to make sure Jumanji 3 has a story worth telling.
I also asked Garcia about their take on Big Trouble in Little China, which has been in the works for a few years now. Garcia reiterated that their intention is not to remake Big Trouble, but to instead continue it – much like how they handled Jumanji. It was clear he’s still passionate about making that one happen, but a property that old and iconic has some strings attached to it that are making it a bit more of a challenge.
Garcia also revealed that they have a first draft in for their Scorpion King reboot that they’re working on, and talked a bit about Young Rock Season 2 and how their Disney+ docuseries Behind the Attraction came together. I'm not quite sure when this guy sleeps.
Check out the final portion of the interview below. Jungle Cruise is now playing in theaters and is streaming on Disney+ with Premier Access.
What's going on with Jumanji 3? I know that's kind of in the offing a little bit.
HIRAM GARCIA: That’s also in the hopper! We’re very focused on delivering the best version of that story. Obviously when you’re fortunate enough to bring a team back together for the third time you want to knock it out of the park. It’s important for us to deliver something big for the fans while still expanding on our Jumanji story. So we are drilling down deep and collaborating closely with our writers, director Jake [Kasdan] and producing partner on this Matt [Tolmach].
Is the Big Trouble in Little China movie still in development?
GARCIA: It’s still an ambition of ours but unfortunately there are complications that come with a legacy property like that which has so much attached to it from over the years. We have a really fun idea on what we'd want to do with it, especially since our goal was never to remake Big Trouble but simply continue it. Similar to what we did with Jumanji we would continue the story and make sure the original stands on it’s own since it means so much to us and fans all around the world. So needless to say we are still working on making that happen but as with any great project the road is not easy but we are sticking to it! We're going to figure out a way to continue the story of Big Trouble in Little China.
And I know a John Carpenter is not one to mince words, so.
GARCIA: (Laughs) No, he's not. He'll tell you exactly what he thinks and how he feels, but that's what makes him so great.
What about The King? Are we going to see Dwayne Johnson and Robert Zemeckis teaming up?
GARCIA: We’re still trying to figure out next steps with that. We have a great script for it and it's just a matter of slotting it into schedules and determining when that comes to life.
During the pandemic, it seemed like a lot of people looking for feel-good movies turned to The Mummy franchise. It's just such a perfect tone. I know a Scorpion King reboot is in the works. What's the status of that one?
GARCIA: We just got a first draft in and we're having a polish done on it now. That's such a beloved franchise, and like you alluded to, that entire world including the Mummy and Scorpion King are so much fun that we just want to continue telling stories in that space.
I have seen six episodes of Behind the Attraction and it's tons of fun. How did that come together?
GARCIA: As we were preparing for Jungle Cruise we became completely immersed into the history of the Jungle Cruise ride. We learned how Walt introduced the ride in 1955 and that he was the first skipper. We went on to discover what his ambition was for the ride and realized every one of the incredibly beloved rides at the Disney parks has a phenomenal backstory like this one. [Seven Bucks co-founder and co-owner] Dany [Garcia], DJ and I are all huge fans of Disney and collaborating with them on this project was a perfect compliment to Jungle Cruise. It was interesting to learn more about these special rides and have the opportunity to share it with Disney fans everywhere. We’re very pleased with it.
I know Young Rock Season 2 is coming up. How's that going?
GARCIA: Young Rock Season 2, we're getting ready to start filming in the months ahead. We have such a good time with it and really enjoy telling DJ's crazy life story. The amazing thing about DJ’s life is despite his humble upbringing, the wrestling business brought him in contact with so many amazing personalities and stars. It’s fun to figure out which stories to tell that utilize characters the fans are going to be excited to see. Everyone should get ready because the new stable of wrestles we are going to work in this year will be awesome and luckily our show runners Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang have come up with a really fun way to do it The whole experience has been so rewarding and we’re thrilled fans love watching the show as much as we love making it!
And then do you guys get to take a break or what?
GARCIA: The rest of our year consists of releasing Jungle Cruise, Red Notice and then filming Young Rock. Then before you know it, we're off and running into the following year where I think Red One’s got a good shot of being first up. You know us, my friend. We don't like to take too many breaks!