The Rock Looks To Rebound From ‘Black Adam’ Flop By Signing On For An A24 UFC Movie Directed By Benny Safdie

Benny Safdie will direct Dwayne Johnson in A24‘s The Smashing Machine, a film centering on former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr.

According to a press release from the production company, the film’s logline describes the new project as “a drama based on the story of Mark Kerr, the legendary MMA fighter from the no-holds-barred era of the UFC at the peak of his career. He struggles with addiction, winning, love and friendship in the year 2000.”

However, this is not the first time that Kerr’s story has been in the spotlight. According to The Wrap, a 2003 HBO documentary — also entitled The Smashing Machine — focused on the two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion’s career, too.

While Johnson and Benny have been tied to the project “since Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions acquired the rights in 2019,” A24 has since “joined as a partner.”

A24’s Noah Sacco said, “Dwayne and Benny are singular talents, and their shared vision for Mark’s inspiring story is electrifying. We are deeply honored to have their trust as collaborators in bringing this incredibly special project to life.”

According to Variety, this film marks Benny’s first solo directorial endeavor, having primarily worked alongside his brother, Josh Safdie on other films such as A24’s Uncut Gems and Good Time.

Most recently, Benny has collaborated with the studio on The Curse, the new show he not only stars in, but also co-wrote and co-created with Nathan Fielder.

The Rock, meanwhile, is coming off the expensive flop that was Black Adam, a DC superhero picture with a reported budget of $260 million (not counting P&A) that stalled out with a box office gross under $400 million. (Remember, movie theaters tend to take about half of a film’s box office gross, which means parent company Warner Discovery likely lost tens of millions on the picture.) James Gunn stuck a stake in the heart of this wannabe franchise when he took the reins of DC, so it makes perfect career sense that The Rock would want to align himself with a budding auteur like Benny Safdie and an indie powerhouse like A24 — who, perhaps not coincidentally, appears to have a hit on their hands this Christmas season with The Iron Claw, a wrestling drama starring The Rock’s Baywatch co-star Zac Efron — to resurrect his career.

This news arrives on the heels of A24 releasing the trailer for their upcoming epic war film directed by Alex Garland, Civil War, which is slated for an April 2024 theatrical release.