Dwayne Johnson Developing Film About MMA Fighter Mark Kerr

The actor revealed the project in New York following a press conference hosted by Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and their Seven Bucks Productions is developing a film about mixed martial arts fighter Mark “The Smashing Machine” Kerr. Johnson will produce and star as Kerr in the film. Garcia and Seven Bucks president of production Hiram Garcia will also produce.

Johnson unveiled the project in New York following a press conference hosted by Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. The press conference was being held ahead of this weekend’s UFC 244 event.

“I was drawn to this because he has such a compelling story,” Johnson said, adding that he watched the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr many times. “Yes, he achieved so much in his life, but like all of us, like all of these fighters, he battled these demons.”

Johnson said that Kerr will be involved in the project.

He told the raucous crowd in the theater that he wanted to break the news there because he “wanted to start with the MMA community, the UFC fans, I wanted to start with you guys first.”

Johnson’s next film is the Sony sequel Jumanji: The Next Level, which will premiere next month. He will also star in Disney’s Jungle Cruise, which will bow in July 2020.

