Dwayne Johnson, former wrestler and current highest-paid actor in the world, has apparently gotten a bit nostalgic for the good old days and is now planning to reboot 2002's The Scorpion King, the film that helped launch his acting career. Hey, if the Spider-Man franchise can reboot itself twice in the span of 20 years, ol' Scorpy can have a shot too.
Seven Bucks Productions, which Johnson runs with producer and businessperson Dany Garcia, plans to work in conjunction with Universal Pictures to bring the action-fantasy film into the modern age. Johnson has no plans to return to his role as the titular character due to his already packed schedule, instead opting to stand back and produce alongside Garcia. Jonathan Herman, whose work on the screenplay for Straight Outta Compton earned him an Oscar nomination, has been tapped to write the script for the reboot.
Johnson clearly still harbors some affection for his breakout role, saying "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 hardworking actors today." Whether or not this means the film will cast a mostly unknown actor in the role as a way to pay his gratitude forward has yet to be seen.
2002's The Scorpion King, as a prequel to the Mummy films, followed Johnson's character, the Akkadian warrior Mathayus, fighting back against an army attacking his homeland. While it's unclear how much of the original story will remain intact, the reboot will reportedly place the tale in a modern setting. While The Scorpion King spawned a whopping 4 sequels (the most recent of which only released in 2018), Johnson only played the character in the first film and The Mummy Returns, which marked his acting debut.
Reboots, while often divisive, are generally a worthwhile endeavor, depending on one's point of view. Usually, the worst that could happen is that the reboot/remake is poorly received and forgotten. But the original is still there, so no harm done. Plus, if the reboot is a hit, then a whole new audience gets to experience something they may have completely overlooked otherwise. Plus, the original wasn't exactly showered with praise at the time, so while many hold nostalgia for it (including Johnson himself), a reboot could be exactly the fresh coat of paint it needs to win over the rest of the crowd.
There's no word as of yet on when production is set to begin, so excited fans will have to coast on anticipation for the time being. But hey, at least it'll probably still come out before Star Citizen.
Source: Deadline