Dwayne Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions have wasted no time in firing up the casting process for Fighting With My Family, the WWE comedy-drama to be written and directed by Stephen Merchant (The Office).
Revolving around the life and career of WWE superstar Paige – played here by newcomer Florence Pugh – Johnson has revealed via Twitter that Game of Thrones star Lena Headey and Nick Frost have climbed on board the embryonic feature. They’ve agreed to terms to portray Paige’s parents, Julia and Ricky, rounding out a cast list that also includes Jack Lowden (Paige’s brother Jack) and Dwayne Johnson himself, who will cameo as The Rock – The People’s Eyebrow and all. Fighting With My Family is without a release date at the moment, but we understand it’ll cover much of the same ground as Brit documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family, albeit with a more star-studded lineup.
Welcome the brilliant/bad ass @IAMLenaHeadey & the often mistaken as my twin @nickjfrost to our cast. #FightingWithMyFamily @SevenBucksProd pic.twitter.com/q7Y3hvKgse
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 8, 2017
Documenting a familiar rags-to-riches arc, Fighting With My Family isn’t exactly breaking new ground in the story department, but with the support of Dwayne Johnson coupled with the film’s exciting cast list, we’re intrigued to see how this one pans out. For the meantime, here’s the preliminary logline for the high-profile wrestling drama:
“[It] follows the story of reformed gangster and former wrestler Ricky, his wife Julia, daughter Saraya and son Zak who make a living performing in tiny venues across the country. Ricky and Julia want a better life for their children and when brother and sister get the chance to audition for the WWE, it seems the family dream is coming true and all their troubles will be solved. However, Saraya and Zak are about to learn that becoming a WWE Superstar demands more than they ever imagined possible as athletes and siblings.”
Seven Bucks Productions will leverage producing duties with WWE Studios and Film4, and though there’s currently no mention of when filming on Fighting With My Family will commence, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this project as it begins to coalesce.