The hardest working man in showbiz, Dwayne Johnson headlines New Line Cinema’s action adventure “Rampage,” for director/producer Brad Peyton.
And fresh off her Oscar-nominated performance in “Moonlight,” Naomie Harris co-stars with Johnson in the film, which has kicked off production on location in Atlanta, for an April 20, 2018 release.
The story: Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson), a man who keeps people at a distance, shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry transforms this gentle ape into a raging monster. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered alpha predators. As these newly created monsters tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.
It’s worth noting that Okoye is typically a Nigerian name (specifically a surname). So is Dwayne Johnson playing a Nigerian-American?
“Rampage” is based on the 1986 arcade game by Bally Midway in which players take control of gigantic monsters trying to survive against onslaughts of military forces.
Joining Johnson and Harris in the film are Malin Akerman (Showtime’s “Billions”), Jake Lacy (HBO’s “Girls”), Joe Manganiello (HBO’s “True Blood”) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (AMC’s “The Walking Dead”); as well as P.J. Byrne (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Marley Shelton (“Solace”), Breanne Hill (“San Andreas”), Jack Quaid (“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”), and Matt Gerald (Netflix’s “Daredevil”).
Beau Flynn, John Rickard and Hiram Garcia are producing “Rampage” which marks the third collaboration between Johnson, Peyton and Flynn, following the blockbuster “San Andreas.”
Serving as executive producers are Marcus Viscidi, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Jeff Fierson, with Wendy Jacobson co-producing. The screenplay is by Ryan Engle and Adam Sztykiel, story by Ryan Engle, based on the video game “Rampage.”
The creatures of “Rampage” will be brought to life by acclaimed VFX supervisor Colin Strause (“San Andreas,” “X-Men: Apocalypse”), with five-time Academy Award-winning visual effects company Weta Digital (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”).
“Rampage” is a New Line Cinema presentation, a Wrigley Pictures/Flynn Picture Company/7 Bucks Entertainment production, in association with ASAP Entertainment. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
The movie will be released on April 20, 2018.
