When most of us finish a big important job, we might take a break. When we’ve worked hard for 12 weeks on something, we might take an extended break. However, after competing at Wrestlemania, The Rock only gave himself a 10-day break as he’s now back in the gym big time getting ready for his new film, in which he’ll play an MMA legend.
Dwayne Johnson posted an extended video to Twitter in which he talked about his preparation for the upcoming A24 movie, The Smashing Machine, in which he’ll play Mark Kerr, a former UFC tournament champion. Johnson says he’s going into a major “training camp” his second of the year, after Wrestlemania. It’s clear Johnson is taking this seriously as he says his wrestling background doesn’t prepare him as much as one might think to play an MMA fighter. He explained…
My second training camp, as you guys know I had a training camp for Wrestlemania for 12 weeks. And then I took 10 days off and then I started this training camp. And just really I appreciate all the support because this is very new to me. Even though I grew up in the world of professional wrestling and it’s crazy and it’s fucking hard to do…wrestling 250 days out of the year when you do it full time … but this is new, combat sports and MMA is new to me.
Johnson made headlines recently following a report claiming some unprofessional conduct on the set. Whatever the accuracy of those reports may be, we have plenty of evidence that The Rock puts in a lot of work to get prepared for his work. We’ve seen the workouts he’s done to prepare for Black Adam and Wrestlemania and now The Smashing Machine. Johnson also posted some pics of him in the ring doing his MMA training.
Training camp for “Smashing Machine”For the role and life of Mark KerrTwo time @UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion World Vale Tudo ChampionLearning, sweating daily – grateful to grow.#TheSmashingMachineWritten & Directed by Benny Safdie@A24 pic.twitter.com/XshHUtnS9cMay 6, 2024
Among all the upcoming Dwayne Johnson movies, The Smashing Machine may be a challenge for the star from an athletic standpoint, pushing him to train in new ways. But one expects it will also be something new for The Rock from an acting standpoint. An A24 movie directed by Benny Safdie, we would expect, will be a much more serious and dramatic role than we’re used to seeing from Johnson.
Part of the reason Johnson will be working so hard on The Smashing Machine, according to him is the respect he has for the people, especially those who helped launch MMA as a sport. Johnson continued…
I approach this with just a boundless amount of respect for the fighters, the men and women and especially the OGs, the godfathers. … Working my ass off. This is truly a team effort to be able to do something like this.
The Rock promised more videos going forward that will show off the work that he is doing for The Smashing Machine. The movie co-stars Johnson’s Jungle Cruise partner Emily Blunt and is expected to release in 2025.