Emily Blunt in Talks to Join Dwayne Johnson in MMA Movie "The Smashing Machine"

Emily Blunt is in talks to join Benny Safdie’s solo directorial debut “The Smashing Machine”, an A24 feature movie starring Dwayne Johnson as MMA and UFC champion Mark Kerr. 

Blunt is in talks to play Dawn Staples, Kerr’s wife. The pic would reunite Blunt with both Safdie, with whom she starred in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”, and Johnson, her co-star from Disney’s 2021 movie “Jungle Cruise”.

Per the studio, “While trying to set up a new life together, Dawn struggles to find her place within Mark’s chaotic and contradictory world.”

The pic will begin production this summer.

The movie logline reads, “‘The Smashing Machine’ is a drama based on the story of Mark Kerr, the legendary MMA fighter from the no-holds-barred era of the UFC at the peak of his career. He struggles with addiction, winning, love, and friendship in the year 2000.”

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

Blunt’s involvement in the project doesn’t come as a surprise. She is a key reason the movie is being made, Johnson said in January.

Johnson and Safdie first connected on the pic in 2019, but fell out of touch and put the movie on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Years later, on a phone call with Blunt, Johnson opened up to her about his desire to reconnect with the project and play Kerr. 

After watching the 2002 documentary “The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr”, Blunt encouraged Johnson to continue pursuing the project: “You must make this movie.” 

When Blunt and Safdie spoke on the set of “Oppenheimer”, Johnson’s name came up, prompting Safdie to reconnect with Johnson and pursue the making of "The Smashing Machine".

Talking about his attraction to the pic, Johnson said, “Benny wants to create, and continues to push the envelope when it comes to stories that are raw and real, characters that are authentic and at times uncomfortable and arresting,".

"I’m at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I’ve not pushed myself in the past. I’m at a point in my career where I want to make films that matter, that explore a humanity and explore struggle [and] pain.”

Kerr, an American former wrestler and MMA icon, was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner. Throughout his career, he won over two dozen MMA titles.