Emily Blunt is joining Dwayne Johnson in the cast for Disney's live-action Jungle Cruise movie, itself based on the popular Adventureland theme park attraction of the same name. Screen Rant learned that Disney was considering Blunt for Jungle Cruise only yesterday, but it's now being reported that the Edge of Tomorrow star has closed a deal to appear in the film opposite 'The Rock'. Johnson is starring in the movie as a 1920s riverboat captain who goes on a wild adventure across the world, after he teams up with a scientist (Blunt) in search of a magical cure.
The Johnson/Blunt pairing is a far cry from the duo of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen that Disney had originally announced for Jungle Cruise, back when an earlier iteration of the project was formally announced in 2011. That's far from the only change that the film has gone through over the past seven years, what with Jungle Cruise now being helmed by Jaume Collet-Serra (a filmmaker best known for having directed four different Liam Neeson action/thrillers) and drawing from a script that recently got a rewrite by one of the most prolific screenwriters in mainstream Hollywood at the moment.
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Variety is reporting that Blunt is now set to star opposite Johnson in Jungle Cruise, drawing from a script that Michael Green rewrote from an earlier draft penned by Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne (the uncredited writers on Star Trek Beyond). Production on Jungle Cruise is slated to get underway this May, with the filming locations including Disney's sound stages in Atlanta. UPDATE: Omega Underground is reporting that Jungle Cruise is also expected to shoot on location in Hawaii, with production taking place from May 7 through to August 17 under the working title Elixir.
Green is coming off a year in which he either wrote or cowrote no less than four (mostly acclaimed) films, including the grisly Wolverine drama Logan, the gory Alien prequel Alien Covenant, the moody Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049, and the Agatha Christie adaptation Murder on the Orient Express. The writer also co-created the American Gods TV show for Starz and is now working on a script for the Orient Express sequel Death on the Nile, as well as the comic book TV show adaptation Y: The Last Man for FX.
Blunt hasn't been slacking of late either and has a voice role in this March's animated sequel Sherlock Gnomes, as well as live-action roles in the horror/thriller A Quiet Place (which her husband John Krasinski directed and costars in) and Disney's upcoming sequel Mary Poppins Returns. Jungle Cruise also marks Blunt's third time collaborating with the Mouse House after her roles in the musicals Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns.
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All things considered, Jungle Cruise is shaping up to be a worthwhile action/adventure, based on the creative talent involved on both sides of the camera here. Could this be the movie that finally gives Disney the new Pirates of the Caribbean-esque franchise it's spent the last several years trying to find, via would be franchise starters like John Carter and The Lone Ranger?
Jungle Cruise doesn't have an official release date yet. We will let you know when that changes.
Source: Variety, Omega Underground