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These days, there are so many bells and whistles on huge Disney movies like Jungle Cruise that we don’t always stop and get a sense of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making an epic such as the recent release. While there are clearly some CGI scenes throughout the film starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, such as that massive waterfall, the actors also pulled off a major scene toward the end practically, and it’s quite impressive.
The scene we’re talking about is when Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson’s Lily and Frank must go underwater to pull a lever leading them to the Tears of the Moon. According to Jungle Cruise’s underwater cinematographer, Ian Seabrook, the pair used the power of their lung strength to actually hold their breath to capture the tense moment that was shot over two weeks.
When Ian Seabrook dove into the work that went into shooting this Jungle Cruise scene to Insider, the filmmaker shared that both Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt would have to hold their breath for 30 second intervals in the two locations they shot to get the scene done, including an underwater set in Atlanta, Georgia. Seabrook shared his experience with The Rock as follows:
When Dwayne took his first breaststroke, the first take he did he ended up right on top of me. I realized how powerful he can swim, so on the takes after I had to lurch back underwater quickly and was balancing on the tips of my fins underwater so that when he swam down I was able to get enough distance to pull off the shot. I basically had to be at the same velocity that he was swimming.
It sounds like Dwayne Johnson really put his strength into filming the sequence, but he wasn’t the only one who impressed the cinematographer. Seabrook applauded Emily Blunt too, who apparently hadn’t done an underwater stunt before Jungle Cruise. In his words:
I really admire Emily's work in this, I had no idea what her comfort level was in the water. She was stone-cold with her calmness.
Next time you watch that scene, pay attention to the incredible practical work that Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt accomplished for the action film. It could not have been easy to be underwater that long during those shoots, but they absolutely nailed it according to their underwater cinematographer. Ian Seabrook has also been a part of the underwater scenes in other big movies like Deadpool 2, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and IT Chapter Two.
Jungle Cruise premiered late last month in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access to overall positive reception, following a previous delay brought on by COVID-19. If you would like to see the movie at home, you can subscribe to Disney+ using this link. The Disney movie will also be available to buy on more digital platforms later this month. Following Jungle Cruise, Disney is developing movies for its rides Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more movie updates.
