Jesse Plemons lands villain role opposite Dwayne Johnson in Disney's 'Jungle Cruise' (exclusive)
Jesse Plemons is setting sail with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in Disney’s “The Jungle Cruise,” sources tell Variety.
Plemons will play one of the film’s villains. As previously announced, Edgar Ramirez and Jack Whitehall are also on board.
Jaume Collet-Serra is directing the movie based on the classic theme park attraction, which operates in several Disney Parks across the globe and takes guests on a guided tour through the rivers of the world. Michael Green (“Logan”) penned the most recent draft of the script, rewritten from screenplay by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
Disney plans to develop the film as a possible franchise in the vein of its billion-dollar “Pirates of the Caribbean” series.
John Davis and John Fox will produce via Davis Entertainment; Beau Flynn will produce with his FlynnPictureCo. banner; and Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia will produce through Seven Bucks Productions. Scott Sheldon is co-producing the movie, which is slated to go into production in May.
Seven Bucks is hot off the heels of its biggest hit to date, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which starred Johnson, and was produced by Garcia and Johnson. The movie has grossed almost $1 billion worldwide, including almost $404 million at the domestic box office. Flynn, Johnson, Garcia, and Garcia most recently collaborated on “Rampage” for Warner Bros./New Line, which just opened to No. 1 at the box office, grossing $155 million worldwide. The duo also worked on this summer’s action tentpole “Skyscraper” at Universal, which bows on July 13.
Plemons most recently appeared in a scene-stealing role in New Line’s “Game Night.” Prior to that, he was in the western thriller “Hostiles.”
Other credits included Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” and Tom Cruise pic “American Made.” Plemons has also been lauded for his work in critically acclaimed shows such as “Breaking Bad,” “Fargo,” “Black Mirror” and “Friday Night Lights.”
He is repped by Talentworks.
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