The Rock Set for ‘Fighting With My Family’ WWE Movie
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is set to collaborate with World Wrestling Entertainment to bring the story of real-life WWE Superstar Paige – real name Saraya-Jade Bevis – to the big screen.
The multi-time WWE champion and box office juggernaut will act as an Executive Producer on the film and is expected to make a cameo appearance.
Stephen Merchant, long-time collaborator with Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras, An Idiot Abroad), is set to re-team with Johnson after performing alongside him in Disney’s ‘The Tooth Fairy’, writing and directing the film on behalf of Film4 and WWE Studios.
The movie is set to be a live-action dramatic retelling of Channel 4’s documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family, and tells the story of reformed gangster Ricky, his wife Julia, his son Zak and his daughter Saraya (Paige) who each make their living as professional wrestlers.
British pair Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, The Falling) and Jack Lowden (’71, A United Kingdom, Denial) will star as the brother and sister duo each battling to make it into the WWE.
Dwayne Johnson provided the following statement following the film’s announcement:
“Back in 2012, I was in my hotel room in London and stumbled across a documentary on a local UK channel. Not only was I intrigued by this loving and wild family, but I also felt it’s the kind of narrative that would make an amazing movie. The Knights’ journey is a universal one that all families are familiar with. I relate to Saraya (Paige) and her wrestling family on such a personal level and it means so much that I can help tell their story.”
Knight, whose career as a pro wrestler is already over a decade long despite being only 24 years old, responded to the announcement with the following tweet:
Exciting project just been announced. Thx to @TheRock and @StephenMerchant for giving my family a chance to shine! Forever thankful! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) 7 February 2017
The film is set to start principle photography in London and Los Angeles this month with no release date officially announced.
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