Having suffered through the ignominy of watching his plans to change the DCU’s hierarchy of power crumble before his very eyes, Dwayne Johnson is back on very familiar turf with his next project Red One.
As the overwhelming majority of his output tends to be, the festive blockbuster is a hugely expensive action comedy that reunites him with several regular collaborators, including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level director Jake Kasdan, along with Hobbs & Shaw screenwriter Chris Morgan.
Luckily, Red One won’t suffer the same fate as Black Adam, largely because it’s never going to see the inside of a theater. Releasing exclusively on Prime Video, the intriguing adventure has already been touted as the launchpad for an entire holiday-themed franchise on the streaming service, which sounds as curious as it does unnecessary.
Taking a moment of quiet reflection in between running away from explosions, punching stunt performers in the face, and spending his days in front of a cavernous wall of green and blue screens, Johnson reflected on the mysteries of life in an atmospheric social media post with plenty of aesthetic value.
Ruminating on how life will “keep throwing signs at you until you finally pay attention and make a change” is destined to generate discussion among the actor’s fans and detractors, particularly when he’ll still be reeling from what must rank as the biggest personal and professional disappointment of his career after being banished from James Gunn’s DCU.