The Rock Is Starring In Benny Safdie’s A24 Movie Because He Wants To ‘Make Films That Matter’

I have good and bad news.

Let’s get the bad news out of the way: Uncut Gems and Good Times directors Benny and Josh Safdie may never make a movie together again. “It’s a natural progression of what we each want to explore,” Benny told Variety about the amicable split. “I will direct on my own, and I will explore things that I want to explore. I want that freedom right now in my life.” When asked if he’ll direct with his brother in the future, he shrugged and replied, “I don’t know.”

The good news Benny is directing a movie for A24 starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Smashing Machine (which the indie distributor described as The Rock’s “most dramatic project and role yet”) is the wrestler-turned-actor-turned-wrestler who makes fun of his acting career‘s first non-blockbuster film for adults since Pain & Gain, which he’s great in. “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,” he said. “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.”

Johnson (who will play MMA and UFC champion Mark Kerr) added that he hasn’t given up on “big, four-quadrant movies” like Fast & Furious, “but there’s a time and a place for them. I’m at this point in my career where I want more. And I don’t mean I want more box office. I mean I want more humanity. And that is why Benny Safdie is the perfect, collaborative, hungry partner for me.”

Benny helped get an Oscar-worthy performance out of Adam Sandler. Let’s see if he can do the same with The Rock.