If you’ve been hoping to see recent Oscar-nominee Emily Blunt and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pair up on screen again, we now know that your hopes will be fulfilled soon, as the duo is planning to film the upcoming A24 movie, The Smashing Machine in the near future (which led Johnson to post a sweet comment for Blunt). However, that film is a far different one from the comedic action adventure that originally brought them together, 2021’s Disney hit, Jungle Cruise. While a sequel to that popular movie was announced a little over a month after its release, we’ve heard very little about it for years. Now, The Rock has shared the latest news on the potential sequel.
What Did The Rock Say About Possibly Working With Emily Blunt For Jungle Cruise 2?
While fans had to wait longer than expected for the Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt-starring film based on an ever-popular Disney theme park ride, once it finally hit theaters movie-goers ate up the thrilling, banter-filled chemistry that the actors brought to the comedy as Captain Frank Wolff and Dr. Lily Houghton. Though the leads will be back on screen in relatively short order, it won’t be to reprise their beloved characters in Jungle Cruise 2, but The Rock gave everyone an update when speaking with Variety recently, noting:
Alright, I know what you’re thinking, because that is hardly the enthusiastic response that those who adored the first film were likely hoping for. But, I happen to think that it still sets us up for some good news down the line, as the interest from the wrestler turned actor is there, and it’s also clear from his next project with The Fall Guy star that he enjoys working with her.
The reality of the movie business is that even if everyone involved wants something to happen, if all the (dozens if not hundreds of) pieces don’t fall into place quickly it becomes a real waiting game, especially because major stars like Johnson and Blunt easily fill their schedules up very quickly.
Producer Hiram Garcia revealed when the sequel was announced that the team who worked on the first movie was already hard at work “cracking the story” for the new film and noted that the stars had “brilliant ideas” about what they wanted to see next from their characters. He also said that they all have “much bigger plans” for JC2 that will see “our heroes covering more territory” than just the Amazon and London, and we’ll get to see how Frank and Lily’s relationship develops.
As we hope for more solid updates on Jungle Cruise 2, whenever they may finally come, at least we know we’ll get to see Johnson and Blunt star together in The Smashing Machine sooner rather than later.