Variety reports that British comedian and actor Jack Whitehall is joining Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in Disney‘s The Jungle Cruise. The project is a live-action film based on Disney’s popular theme park attraction. Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop, Run All Night) will direct.
Whitehall (Mother’s Day, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms) will play Blunt’s brother in the film, which is being called a “key role” in the storyline. Whitehall is a stand-up comedian who created and starred in the hit British sitcom Bad Education, which was then adapted into a feature film. His stand-up special Jack Whitehall: At Large is currently streaming on Netflix.
Jungle Cruise‘s script by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (Star Trek Beyond) was recently rewritten by Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049). Johnson is set to produce alongside his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, as well as frequent collaborator Beau Flynn (San Andreas, Baywatch) of Flynn Picture Co. John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment will also produce.
Jungle Cruise will join the ranks of films Disney has created based on their theme park attractions, including The Country Bears, The Haunted Mansion, Mission to Mars, Tomorrowland, and the most popular, Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney plans to develop the film as a possible franchise in the same vein as Pirates of the Caribbean. The film is slated to begin production in May.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
