Almost all of Hollywood’s biggest stars operate their own production companies, not just as a means to gain an increased level of creative control, but also as a method to help unproven filmmakers or potentially risky projects get made.
To give you a few examples, Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment was involved in Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way backed box office bomb Robin Hood for some reason, Brad Pitt won an Academy Award for producing The Departed through his Plan B banner, and George Clooney did the same thanks to Argo and Smokehouse Pictures.
However, for the most part, Dwayne Johnson‘s Seven Bucks has almost exclusively focused on the actor’s own filmography, with the exception of Shazam! and sequel Fury of the Gods, which are admittedly tied to his Black Adam. However, he’s now attached to develop and produce original actioner Emergency Contact for Warner Bros., with Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II set to play the lead role.
Details are scarce other than the brief logline that tells us it’ll be set in the underground music scene of Austin, Texas, but it does reunite Johnson will several of his regular collaborators. Black Adam scribes Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani will pen the script, with Beau Flynn also producing after previously having a hand in nine of The Rock’s starring vehicles, including upcoming duo Jungle Cruise and Red Notice.
Headlining a high concept action blockbuster like Emergency Contact will continue Abdul-Mateen’s rapid ascent up the Hollywood ladder, with the 34 year-old following up his acclaimed turns in Watchmen and The Trial of the Chicago 7 with a slew of big name projects including the Candyman reboot, The Matrix 4, Michael Bay’s Ambulance, Aquaman 2 and Mad Max: Furiosa, while he’s already familiar with Dwayne Johnson after playing a small role in Baywatch.