The early 2010s may have seen Dwayne Johnson resuscitate one major franchise, but he failed to do the same with another one:Journey to the Center of the Earth. In 2011, Johnson made his debut in theFast & FuriousmoviesinFast Five, wherein he played Hobbs.Fast Fivewas considered one of the best films of the franchise up until that point, and Johnson was hired for three sequel films, as well as the 2019 spinoffFast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.Fast Fivewas also the highest-grossing film in the franchise up until that point, making $621.1 million worldwide.
Fast Five’s gross was over double the highest gross of the previous highest-grossingFast & Furiousfilm. The tides changed rapidly after that, as its follow-up (Fast & Furious 6), had an even higher gross with $788.6 million, peaking withFurious 7before theFast & Furiousfranchise box office began to decline. Given the huge upward trajectory, Johnson can be seen as a huge factor in helping save theFastfranchise. As a result, another franchise attempted to use Johnson in the same way. But in that case, it did not have nearly the same success.
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Journey 2: Mysterious Island Was Successful (But Journey 3 Never Happened)
Journey 3 Was Cancelled
In 2012,Dwayne Johnson played one of the lead characters inJourney 2: Mysterious Island. It was a sequel to the 2008 filmJourney to the Center of the Earth, which starred Brendan Fraser in the lead role.Journey 2: Mysterious Islandwas a box office success, making $335.2 million worldwide. Made on a $79 million budget,Journey 2turned a decent profit at the box office. Its gross also passed that of the original 2008 film.
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In theory, Johnson could have launched another successful film franchise afterJourney 2, butJourney to the Center of the Earth 3never got off the ground.Journey 3, titledJourney 3: From the Earth to the Moon, was originally announced following the success ofJourney 2.Journey 3was later canceled, however. It is important to note that the reasons for the film’s cancelation seemed not financial, but rather related to a creative decision, asJourney 3ended up being too difficult to write.
Dwayne Johnson Found Himself A Much More Successful Adventure Franchise In 2017
Jumanji Was A Better Sequel Franchise
Though Johnson did not manage to revive theJourney to the Center of the Earthseries,he did manage to revive another franchise to great success.This was the adventure seriesJumanji, a rebooted series of the 1995 Robin Williams film. Johnson starred inJumanji: Welcome to the Junglein 2017. Unlike theJourneyfranchise, this film’s success did kick off a new franchise, asWelcome to the Junglewas followed up withJumanji: The Next Levelin 2019. After this film,Jumanji 4was announced, proving the studio has faith in the legs of the franchise.
BothJumanjisequels are available to watch on Hulu whileJourney 2: The Mysterious Islandis available to rent on Prime Video.
Jumanji’s success further showcases the extent to which Dwayne Johnson’s involvement has a way of reinvigorating franchises, even if the opportunity was wasted withJourney to the Center of the Earth. While his success in big-budget tentpoles and franchise movies has been mixed, he seems to excel in roles where he’s allowed to take an old franchise and make it his own, relying on his knack for balancing action and humor to put a new twist on an old IP. With so many upcoming projects on his plate, he’s bound to find another franchise to bring to a new generation soon.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a 2008 re-imagining of the classic novel and film, directed by Eric Brevig. Starring Brendan Fraser, Seth Meyers, Anita Briem, and Josh Hutcherson, the film sees an uncle and his nephew embarking on a journey to Iceland, where they inadvertently fall into a treacherous situation.
