- The Rock will play Hawaiian crime lord in upcoming gangster movie
- As-yet-untitled film is being billed as ‘Goodfellas meets The Departed’
- Leonardo Di Caprio and Emily Blunt also set to star
When The Rock isn’t busy sending shockwaves through the world of professional wrestling, he is doing precisely the same thing to Hollywood. And never moreso than with the announcement of his latest upcoming project, which will see the 10-time WWE Champion team up for the first time with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo Di Caprio.
In a casting announcement that, we think it’s fair to say, absolutely no one saw coming, it was revealed that none other than Dwayne Johnson would be starring alongside Leo and reuniting with Emily Blunt for an upcoming Scorsese gangster flick set in Hawaii.
The untitled mob movie is based on a real life figure who served as a ruthless crime boss in Hawaii, fending off rival gangs in order to control the island’s criminal underworld.
Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt will star in Martin Scorsese’s new crime thriller.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 20, 2025
• Described as ‘The Departed’ meets ‘Goodfellas’
• Follows an aspiring mob boss who fights rival crime factions for control of the underworld of the Hawaiian islands pic.twitter.com/rNmEKex2E7
With a script penned by British-American journalist, author and filmmaker Nick Bilton, the bloody gangster epic will see The Rock reunite with Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt. The pair, who will also work together on upcoming Benny Safdi A24 drama The Smashing Machine, actually brought the project to Scorsese and DiCaprio, with Bilton then being brought on board as writer before the project was pitched across Hollywood. According to Deadline, there is set to be a bidding war for the rights to the movie.
But what else do we know about this surprising and mysterious project?
What is the film about?
As previously mentioned, The Rock will play a ruthless Hawaiian crime lord, based on a as-yet-unnamed real life character, who ruled the island’s criminal underground with an iron fist throughout the ’60s and ’70s. Deadline states, “this formidable and charismatic mob boss rises to build the islands’ most powerful criminal empire, waging a brutal war against mainland corporations and rival syndicates while fighting to preserve his ancestral land.” DiCaprio and Blunt’s characters are not yet known, although it is of course safe to assume they will play major roles in the project, which will be DiCaprio’s seventh venture with Scorsese, following on from Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, Wolf of Wall Street and Killers of the Flower Moon.
Who else is in the cast?
At the time of writing, only Johnson, DiCaprio and Blunt are attached to the project, although once a studio is attached to the picture, more names will be announced.
Who is producing the film?
According to Deadline, producers attached currently include Scorsese, Johnson, Blunt, DiCaprio, Bilton, Dany Garcia, Lisa Frechette and Rick Yorn (both of whom produced Killers of the Flower Moon and The Irishman with Scorsese).
What is the film’s release date?
Given that the film has not officially been greenlit by a Hollywood studio at the time of writing, there is no official release date for it as of yet. With everyone involved already being attached to several other projects in development, 2027 or 2028 is probably a likely bet for when this one lands in theatres.
We will keep this article updated as and when more details of the project are released.
