According to THR, Johnson is set to star in The Janson Directive for Universal, which will be based on a novel by Robert Ludlum (the man behind the Bourne franchise, of course) and which will launch a Ludlum Universe. Because nobody can understand movies anymore unless they're in some sort of shared universe.
The film will reunite The Rock with screenwriter James Vanderbilt, who he worked with on The Rundown in 2003. Hopefully it'll be better than that was. It will focus on Paul Janson, a former ops specialist who is now the best private security consultant in the world. He's framed for a murder and must join forces with the protege sent to kill him to survive. Very Bourne-like.
The Ludlum Universe looks like it will contain at least Janson, The Parsifal Mosaic, The Sigma Protocol and Covert One and while it's not clear how Johnson will play into the other films, you don't cast someone like him and drop him at the start of the universe.
The star had this to say:
"The Janson Directive is classic Robert Ludlum. Sharp, edgy and layered storylines. The character is complex, conflicted, bad ass and lethal — I can't wait to sink my teeth into this and bring him to life. Between Jamie, Akiva, Captivate and Universal, it's an exciting time to help produce and build out this awesome Ludlum universe."The Rock as a security specialist on the run from nefarious forces? Count me in.
In his usual way, he has also taken to Instagram to promise that his role in Fast & Furious 8 will "raise the bar", in case anyone was scared the franchise would get stagnant...
"Next level. Workin' extremely hard to come into FAST & FURIOUS 8 and do what the studio has asked of me - raise the bar. This will be my FOURTH rodeo with the franchise - that's a lot of screen time - and the character of "Luke Hobbs" must grow and evolve. Otherwise its a waste of time. And I don't waste my time;). Hobbs' is comin' in hot and he ain't f*ckin' around.#FF8 #Hobbs #SteppinOnSet#OneWeekAway #RaiseTheBar#AndNoWastedTime 💪🏾💯"The man is a machine. A movie making, haymaking, gym-shaking machine.
