Oscar nominee Emily Blunt will star opposite Dwayne Johnson in A24’s The Smashing Machine, written and directed by Benny Safdie.

Johnson will star in The Smashing Machine as real-life mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion. Blunt would star as Dawn Staples, the new wife to Kerr. Safdie has been developing the project with Johnson, who notably started his career as a professional wrestler, since 2019.

A 2002 HBO doc also titled The Smashing Machine detailed Kerr’s professional career and his rise through the fighting world, as well as his battle with an addiction to pain killers that led to an overdose. Kerr earned the nickname “The Smashing Machine” due to no-holds-barred fighting style.

 

A24 will finance the film, as well as produce alongside Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions, Safdie’s Out for the Count banner, Eli Bush and David Koplan.

Blunt is currently Oscar-nominated for her performance as Kitty Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, also nominated for best picture, among others. Blunt and Johnson costarred in 2021’s Jungle Cruise, for which a sequel is in development with Blunt and Johnson set to reprise their roles. Her other credits include A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II, The Devil Wears Prada, The Girl on The Train, Into the Woods, and The English, among many others.

Emily is represented by CAA, The Artists Partnership and David Weber of Sloane, Offer.