Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson transforms into troubled UFC legend Mark Kerr in the first trailer for The Smashing Machine, an A24 biopic directed by Benny Safdie, one of the two Safdie brothers who co-directed and co-wrote the gritty indie hits Uncut Gems and Good Time. Safdie, who is making his solo directorial debut, oversees A-listers like Johnson and Emily Blunt, who plays his wife, Dawn Staples, along with real-life fighters including heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk and former UFC stars Bas Rutten and Ryan Bader.
The Smashing Machine—Johnson and Blunt’s second movie since Disney’s Jungle Cruise in 2021—follows Kerr, a mixed martial artist who fought from 1997 to 2009. He was previously the subject of an HBO documentary also called The Smashing Machine, which focused on his substance abuse issues and rocky relationships with his girlfriend and trainers. The dramatic new trailer features Johnson’s soft-spoken Kerr grappling with drugs and his fading MMA career, bringing to mind Mickey Rourke’s emotional turn in The Wrestler.
Johnson previously told Variety that he wanted to work with Safdie on The Smashing Machine because “Benny wants to create, and continues to push the envelope when it comes to stories that are raw and real, characters that are authentic and at times uncomfortable and arresting. I’m at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I’ve not pushed myself in the past. I’m at a point in my career where I want to make films that matter, that explore a humanity and explore struggle [and] pain.”
The Smashing Machine hits theaters on October 3. Watch the first official trailer below.
