This summer, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt will swing into action for Disney’s massive tentpole Jungle Cruise, yet another family adventure property based on a ride from one of the House of Mouse’s theme parks. This concept worked like gangbusters back in 2003, when Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom launched a generation-defining franchise with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and Disney is clearly looking to re-bottle some of that old magic. Johnson and Blunt are certainly game players for a big, sweaty slab of action-comedy beef, and having actors like Jesse Plemmons and Paul Giamatti on board works in this movie’s favor too. We’ll see how she fares in July.
Of note here is the choice in director, Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra. He first cut his teeth in horror movies like House of Wax and Orphan before moving to small-budget suspense flicks like 2016’s excellent, underrated Blake Lively-VS-sharks thriller Shallows. Next up, he’ll re-team with Johnson for Black Adam, the next entry in DC’s expanding superhero franchise.
