A24 has released the official trailer for the upcoming sports drama biopic The Smashing Machine, featuring Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
The song, which offers a sense of self-reflection and looking back on life, plays during the latter moments in the trailer. Written and directed by Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time), the film stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Mark Kerr, a former wrestler and two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as he battles addiction during the peak of his UFC career.
From the trailer alone, the film shows Johnson in a role very different from what he’s known for. He leads a character-driven, independent sports drama produced by A24, something that, just a few years ago, might have seemed far-fetched.
The cast also includes Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) as Kerr’s ex-wife Dawn Staples, mixed martial artist Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman, former MMA fighter Bas Rutten as himself, and professional boxer Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn, among others.
The project began when Blunt, who had previously worked with Johnson, played matchmaker and introduced him to Safdie, after starring in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, where Safdie played physicist Edward Teller.
It looks like he’s beginning to take bigger swings in Hollywood, as he’s also set to star in a crime drama set in Hawaii, directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Blunt.
Watch the trailer for The Smashing Machine below:
The Smashing Machine is set to hit theaters this October, although it’s still uncertain if it will be shown in Philippine cinemas.