The Walt Disney Company has a history of turning their most popular theme park attractions into movies, and it seems as though they are ready to add another chapter to that book. This is because they are actively developing a film based around the Jungle Cruise ride, and it's a project that has Dwayne Johnson interested in starring.
Deadline has the details on this new feature venture, noting that the screenplay is being written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra - the team behind Crazy, Stupid Love and this year's con-comedy Focus. Sadly, there isn't any information at this time regarding exactly what the plot of the film will be, or what kind of character we can expect to see Dwayne Johnson play (my bet is on muscular badass with a heart of gold who is always ready to save the day).
The Jungle Cruise ride has been a popular location in Disney theme parks, and has been around since the beginning in 1955. Rather than just being a ride limited to Disneyland, however, there is a version of the ride in every Magic Kingdom-style park around teh world with the exception of Disneyland Paris. The ride is fairly simple, and finds patrons floating on a boat down various major rivers around the world.As the ride goes on, various animatronic animals make their presence known.
Dwayne Johnson very recently joined the Walt Disney family, signing on for a major role in the animated musical Moana - but it seems that he is ready to become even more invested (let's not forget his desire to be in a Star Wars movie). That being said, he already has such a full slate that one must wonder exactly when he can fit Jungle Cruise into his schedule. He has most recently been filming the action comedy Central Intelligence with Kevin Hart, but he is also currently in pre-production on the Baywatch movie, the next chapter in the Fast & Furious franchise, the Big Trouble In Little China remake, the family adventure Journey 3: From The Earth To The Moon, the video game adaptation Rampage, and his big superhero debut in Shazam. If Johnson were to make all of those titles before Jungle Cruise, it's possible that we wouldn't get to see the finished result until after 2020.
As Deadline points out, Disney is taking an interesting gamble with Jungle Cruise, as their record with movies based on theme parks rides has become a bit spotty. Of course, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have been massively successful, but Brad Bird's Tomorrowland was a bust when released earlier this year, and we won't soon be forgetting the Eddie Murphy-led Haunted Mansion adaptation. Time will tell which direction Jungle Cruise goes.
