{TB EXCLUSIVE} Dwayne Johnson Takes On “The Janson Directive”

by: Ghenghis Turngood

I have gotten word that Dwayne Johnson has boarded THE JANSON DIRECTIVE, not only as a producer through his production company, 7 Bucks Entertainment, but also as a cast member. I don’t have the official details on which character he will be playing, but I would say the smart money is on the lead, Paul Janson. After all, who would get Johnson attached and not showcase his charisma front and center? This isn’t the early 2000’s. (And no, his amazing cameo with Samuel L. Jackson in “The Other Guys” does not count as not getting the lead, mainly because they are the two most memorable elements of that film.)

“The Janson Directive” is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Ludlum and follows the best security consultant in the world as he is enlisted to rescue a billionaire being held hostage by a dangerous organization, only to see him assassinated during the escape, and himself blamed for the killing. Attempting to clear his name while being hunted down by his own protégée, he discovers the existence of an unimaginable black-ops program, well on its way to altering the global balance of power.

The book rights were bought up by Universal several years ago, but nothing really happened with the project. It stayed in development, but never made any significant forward progress. That is of course, until now, because if there is one thing you can do to get your project rolling, it’s to get Johnson involved. The man has true star power in a world that doesn’t seem to care all that much about their male or female leads anymore. Between the FF franchise, the G.I. Joe franchise, and the fun actioners he has coming up (“Hercules” and “San Andreas 3D”), he has been on a roll. If these upcoming films are as successful as I suspect they will be, we will hopefully have a few decades worth of awesome Johnson features in our future. Assuming he doesn’t decide to run for office. 

I don’t know when he is going to find the time to fit this project in with all the others that have his name attached, but hopefully having his production company on board with him will give the project the boost needed to move it closer to the front of the pack. This sounds like a fun thriller that really fits nicely in the body of work Johnson has been working so hard to create.

He is repped by WME and Grant Tani Barash & Altman.

—TO SEE ALL THE PROJECT DETAILS CLICK HERE—