Emily Blunt is also attached to the Nick Bilton-scripted project. Emily Blunt is also reportedly attached to the as-yet-untitled project, with a script by writer and documentarian Nick Bilton. The project, thought to be modeled after Scorsese classics like Goodfellas and The Departed, is now being shopped around Hollywood.
Scorsese and DiCaprio are longtime collaborators, with shared credits on The Aviator, The Departed, Gangs of New York, and The Wolf of Wall Street and Best Picture nominee Killers of Flower Moon. Johnson and Blunt previously starred together in Disney’s Jungle Cruise.
The Smashing Machine will star Johnson as MMA fighter and UFC pioneer Mark Kerr, which is set to be released later this year. The film was written and directed by Benny Safdie, who previously co-wrote and co-directed Uncut Gems, one of A24’s biggest commercial successes to date.
Kerr is a former wrestler who competed as a mixed martial artist between 1997 and 2009. During his MMA career, he was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, and a Pride FC competitor. He was previously the subject of a 2003 HBO documentary, also titled The Smashing Machine after Kerr’s longtime nickname. The new film will reportedly take place around the turn of the millennium and will follow Kerr’s struggles with love and addiction as well as his exploits in the ring.
Johnson made his name as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star The Rock before launching his acting career. In 2021, the Fast and Furious star was the subject of a political poll, in which 46 percent of US adults said they would support the actor’s presidential campaign.
