Action man Dwayne Johnson wants filmmaker Patty Jenkins to take charge of his forthcoming Disney movie Jungle Cruise.
The Furious 7 star was first linked to the live-action project, based on the popular Disney theme park attraction of the same name, in 2015, but the big screen adaptation was put on hold while writers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay worked on perfecting the script.
Now Dwayne, who will both star in and executive produce Jungle Cruise, has revealed Patty is at the top of his wish list to direct the movie.
“Patty has that really cool edge… I felt like she could be a really cool choice for a movie like Jungle Cruise,” he told The Associated Press. “Plus, you know what? I’m just a big fan.”
Patty, who will launch her Wonder Woman blockbuster in June (17), has yet to comment on the proposal, but she already has a link to Dwayne – she helped his new The Fate of the Furious co-star Charlize Theron win an Oscar for her role in 2003 crime drama Monster.
The Jungle Cruise film has been in the works at Disney for more than a decade, with Toy Story stars Tim Allen and Tom Hanks previously linked to a planned 2011 project, as a tour guide and a tourist, respectively.
Reports suggest this time around, movie executives want to create more of a period piece, akin to the classic 1951 Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn film The African Queen, which was one of the original inspirations for the ride.
Jungle Cruise, one of Disneyland’s original rides, takes park-goers into the depths of Africa and South America, floating down a river and encountering wild animals and headhunters along the way – without ever leaving the California theme park.
If Dwayne’s plan for the film comes together, it won’t be the first Disney ride to be given the movie treatment – Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise were both based on popular attractions.
