Unofficial king of the known universeDwayne Johnsonis officially set to play Hawaiian king Kamehameha I in the historical epic,TheKing. The film—which will be helmed byBack to the FutureandForrest GumpdirectorRobert Zemeckis—set off a bit of a bidding war thanks to the script fromBraveheartwriterRandall Wallaceand Johnson’s proven ability to lift blockbuster after blockbuster upon his frighteningly wide shoulders.
The project—which eventually landed in the hands of New Line Cinemas and Warner Bros.—is an intensely personal one for the action star.Deadlinenotes that Johnson expressed a desire to play this role on-set ofThe Mummy Returns, the movie that turned the actor into a horrific CGI crab monster butalsolaunched The Rock from the wrestling ring into superstardom. Johnson is of Polynesian descent; his maternal grandfather, “High Chief"Peter Maiva, pioneered pro wrestling in Hawaii and is one of the patriarchs of the wide-spread Anoa’i wrestling family. Anyone who has seen Johnson do literally anything since 2003 has glimpsed the massive tattoo covering his shoulder and chest, which tells the story of his Polynesian background, spanning Samoa, New Zealand, and Hawaii.
The plan right now is forThe Kingto head into production in 2020. Johnson has a lot on his plate; the actor is currently in Hawaiibeing delightful as shitwithEmily Blunton the set of Disney’sJungle Cruiseand still has to film theFast & The Furiousspin-offHobbs and Shawas well as the announcedJumanji: Welcome to the Junglesequel. At some point, he willalsohave to find the time to play DC Comics villain Black Adam for Warner Bros.' DCEU. (Which producerHiram Garciatold usis not only “definitely happening”, but currently has a “kick ass” script.)
It’s good to be The King.
