Dwayne Johnson will play the Hawaiian king Kamehameha I in Warner Bros.’ epic The King.
Robert Zemeckis will direct from a script by Braveheart writer Randall Wallace for New Line, which worked with Johnson on the disaster thriller San Andreas and his recent release, Rampage.
Kamehameha is known as the founder and first ruler of the kingdom of Hawaii, uniting the warring islands. The King is described as a sweeping historical epic based on the true life story of Kamehameha, who fulfilled the prophecy that surrounded his fabled life since birth.
Johnson will produce via his Seven Bucks Productions, along with Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. FlynnPictureCo’s Beau Flynn, Zemeckis and Wallace also will produce.
Johnson, who is of Polynesian decent, has been hoping to make a movie about Kamehameha for the better of the past two decades. Last year, a Hawaiian Kahu, a priest, held a ceremony blessing the project, Johnson, Wallace and Garcia in Hawaii.
The Jumanji actor was last seen in the action thriller Skyscraper and is currently filming Disney’s Jungle Cruise.
Zemeckis will soon be in theaters with Universal’s Welcome to Marwen, starring Steve Carell and Leslie Mann.
