Dwayne Johnson has been keeping himself busy as of late. After revitalizing both the G.I. Joe and Fast & Furious franchises in short order, the former wrestler has recently wrapped production on Brett Ratner’s sword and sandal epic Hercules, and is currently filming James Wan’s Fast & Furious 7.
Clearly not one to rest on his laurels, it's being reported that the veteran action star has signed on to headline and produce MGM’s SEAL Team 666. Based on the book by Westen Ochse and penned by Hercules scribe Evan Spiliotopoulos, the film will follow a team of highly trained Navy Seals who specialize in hunting and eliminating supernatural forces. Johnson’s former assistant Hiram Garcia is confirmed to produce the pic alongside alongside Brendan Deneen, Dany Garcia and Peter Joseph, but no director has been attached yet. Check out the synopsis for the 2012 novel below:
Halfway through SEAL training, Cadet Jack Walker, still green but showing incredible promise, is whisked away to join four SEALs and their dog for a special ops mission. Walker soon finds himself in a whirlwind of otherworldly creatures and events as he discovers the true nature of SEAL Team 666. Battling demons, possessed humans, mass-murdering cults, and evil in its darkest and most and ancient form, the members of SEAL Team 666 have their work cut out for them. And it's not long before they realize that the threat isn't directed against the US alone — an ancient and deadly cult has far bigger plans, and Walker is at the center of a supernatural conflict in which the entire world is at stake.
This year more than ever, Johnson has taken it upon himself to develop his acting repertoire; Snitch saw him give a surprisingly understated performance, and he was the most likable thing in Michael Bay’s divisive film, Pain & Gain. Seal Team 666 is more in keeping with the actor’s natural abilities – he’s played a convincing military man a few times in his career – and it’s easy to see him excelling here.
An action star of Johnson's caliber will no doubt receive numerous testosterone-fuelled scripts, so the fact that Johnson has chosen this project as his next action flick is suggests that there is something sufficiently different at play here. If nothing else, the supernatural represents a new enemy type for the actor. We’ll have to wait a while to find out whether or not that element of the story will be enough to distinguish it from similar fare – namely R.I.P.D., a film which tried to mix the world of police procedurals with the supernatural, to disastrous results.
