Dwayne Johnson Enters the Ring in First Trailer for Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine”

A24 has revealed the first trailer for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, which stars Dwayne Johnson as MMA legend Mark Kerr, sporting a prosthetic and an accent in his first turn, potentially marking an intriguing career pivot into prestige films. (Johnson is part of a potential all-star cast for a projected Martin Scorsese-directed gangster film set in Hawaii.)

Kerr was one of the seminal early stars of the UFC, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion who was the central figure in a 2002 HBO doc (also titled The Smashing Machine) which centered on his legendary career and his significant troubles, specifically an addiction to the painkillers he took to endure his chosen profession.

The first trailer showcases at least a partially changed Johnson, who needs no help in the physique department to depict an MMA fighter, but is sporting facial prosthetics and a flatter Ohio accent, creating just enough of a modification that the global superstar does start to get lost inside the character of Kerr. Set to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” the trailer not only highlights Johnson’s transformation into Kerr but also Emily Blunt’s performance as his wife, Dawn.

This is not Johnson and Blunt’s first cinematic rodeo, of course—they both starred in Jungle Cruise together—and it was Blunt who connected Safdie and Johnson, after co-starring with Safdie in Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer. 

The Smashing Machine is Benny Safdie’s first solo directorial effort. Until now, he has co-directed his previous A24 films, Good Time and Uncut Gems, with his brother Josh. 

Speaking with Variety, Johnson has explained what drew him to explore this film with Safdie: “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.”

Check out the trailer below. The Smashing Machine hits theaters on October 3.

Featured image: Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in “The Smashing Machine.” Courtesy A24.