The Rock is heading back into the ring.
On May 21, Dwayne Johnson began filming The Smashing Machine, which has released the first photo of the actor on the set of the new movie. The 52-year-old, who started his entertainment career as a WWE wrestling star, plays Mark Kerr, a real-life fellow wrestler and former two-time UFC heavyweight champion who rose to fame in the 90s.
In the movie—titled after Kerr’s nickname in the octagon—Johnson looks almost unrecognizable, sporting short hair rather than his signature bald style, and also has his tattoos covered up. In the pic, the actor is shown sitting in a corner of a ring and talking to two men during what appears to be a fight, while the MMA fighter’s then-girlfriend (played by his former Jungle Cruise costar Emily Blunt) is standing ringside.
Directed by Benny Safdie, the movie will center on both Kerr’s career successes and personal life and struggles, including his past addiction to painkillers, per Variety. Kerr, now 55, retired from professional fighting in 2010. The Ohio-born athlete is listed as a cowriter of The Smashing Machine along with Safdie and reshared the first look photo of Johnson as him on his Instagram, along with the caption, “So wild.”
