A reboot of Dwayne Johnson’s “The Scorpion King” is in the works at Universal Pictures, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
“Straight Outta Compton” writer Jonathan Herman is penning the screenplay. Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia will produce through their Seven Bucks Productions banner.
The 2002 film was a spinoff of Brendan Fraser’s “The Mummy” franchise. Johnson also played the antagonist in 2001’s “The Mummy Returns.” A year later, Johnson led “The Scorpion King,” which earned $178.7 million globally and served as Johnson’s first leading role in a feature film.
Johnson will not reprise the character in the reboot, but chances are he will appear in the film.
“‘The Scorpion King’ was my very first role ever on the silver screen and I’m honored and excited to reimagine and deliver this cool mythology to a whole new generation,” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t have had the career I’m lucky enough to have had it not been for ‘The Scorpion King’ and I’m thrilled that we at Seven Bucks Productions can help create those same opportunities for other hard working actors today. I believe Jonathan Herman will put in the hard work to deliver a fantastic script for our global audience.”
Garcia added: “The original ‘Scorpion King’ was a crucial catalyst helping to catapult us into the world of film. To be able to now produce the next iteration as part of our Seven Bucks Productions slate is a special, full circle moment, a testament to what we have been fortunate enough to build for our audience and ultimately a humble reminder of the timeless value of authentic storytelling.”
Herman wrote 2015’s “Straight Outta Compton” for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He is represented by UTA, Industry Entertainment and Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark.
Universal’s Senior Vice President of Production Jay Polidoro and Creative Executive Tony Ducret will oversee the project on behalf of the studio. Deadline first reported the news.