Dwayne Johnson will have a bit of company on his dangerous expedition through the jungles and forests of tropical lands, as Variety has confirmed that Emily Blunt will join him in Disney’s Jungle Cruise.
Blunt has collaborated with Disney quite a few times in the past, including on December’s much-anticipated sequel to Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins Returns, which sees the actress taking on the title character. Reportedly, early footage of her in the film has left Disney executives supremely impressed and wanting to “keep her in the family”. She also had roles in such other Disney projects as The Muppets, Gnomeo & Juliet and Into the Woods.
According to Screen Rant, who reported yesterday that Disney wanted the actress for the film, Blunt will play the female lead, a “scientist who teams up with Johnson’s riverboat captain on the hunt for a magical cure.”
This year, she’ll also be starring in Sherlock Gnomes and A Quiet Place. Blunt is only the second actor to board the project, so expect more names to be announced relatively soon.
The Jungle Cruise is the latest Disney Parks ride to be turned into a movie (or, as Disney hopes, multi-film, billion dollar franchise), following Pirates of the Carribean and The Haunted Mansion; much like the former of those, Jungle Cruise will be a period piece, apparently in the same vein of 1952’s The African Queen. The attraction was a part of the original Disneyland roster in 1955 and has remained there ever since, even branching out to most other Disney Parks locations.
The film is in the hands of The Shallows and The Commuter director Jaume Collet-Serra; J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (Star Trek Beyond) penned a draft of the screenplay, which was recently rewritten by Michael Green (Logan).
