From famous wrestler to iconic actor, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson boasts a long list of roles, in projects ranging from pure action to heartwarming kids’ stories but a surprising trend comes in a mini-genre some call The Rock jungle movie. So far, with over 20 years in the industry, Johnson has appeared in an astounding six films that take place in the jungle. While the films range from comedy to adventure, they all share a similar setting and Dwayne Johnson is one of the lead actors.
It’s unclear why so many of Dwayne Johnson’s many movies take place in the jungle. What’s even stranger is that this trend is not just a recent phenomenon among his newest projects, but started as early as 2003. In this way, Johnson has been traversing dense jungles in movies for two decades now. Either way, it seems that Hollywood enjoys throwing the wrestler-turned-actor into the foliage, and he doesn’t seem to mind too much either.
One of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s earliest major roles, The Rundown follows Johnson as Beck, a reserved and physically menacing bounty hunter who is tasked with retrieving his employer’s son (Sean William Scott) from the Amazon rain forest. Unsurprisingly, this seemingly simple task is made more complicated when a controlling treasure hunter and his lackeys try to prevent Beck from leaving.
With the help of a beautiful rebel played by Rosario Dawson, Beck and his ward fight to get back home. The action sequences all take place in the jungle setting, setting the stage for what would become a staple of Johnson’s career. Some of the strongest reviews for this movie praised the jungle backdrop, allowing the film to stand out visually in a crowded genre. It is such an important part of the movie that the film is titled Welcome to the Jungle in some international markets, which also previews Johnson’s work in the Jumanji franchise.
Nearly a decade after The Rundown, Johnson made his return to the jungle in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Acting as a sequel to 2008’s, Journey to the Center of the Earth, this film depicts Josh Hutcherson’s Sean, a brainy teenager, noticing a distress signal coming from an island that shouldn’t exist. Alongside his step-father, Dwayne Johnson, and a local helicopter pilot (Luis Guzmán), and his daughter (Vanessa Hudgens), Sean travels to this island to uncover the mystery of its single human inhabitant.
With this fictional island supposedly set in the South Pacific, Johnson is back in the jungle for a more kid-friendly experience. Even more than his 2003 project, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island lines up Johnson’s future in this genre thanks to the action being aimed at audiences of all ages. This film also again puts him at the center of a group that includes a funnyman (Guzmán and, previously, Scott), which he’d go on to do several times with Kevin Hart. Journey 2 received middling reviews but was mostly seen as a fun romp.
After two separate films set in the jungle, Dwayne Johnson’s newest franchise, the Jumanji sequels, ironically, also took place in the jungle. In it, Johnson plays Dr. Xander “Smolder” Braveheart, otherwise known as Spencer. The premise of the film is that a group of teens open the Jumanji game and are dragged into the same jungle that Alan Parrish escaped from in the original 1995 film. However, this time they take on the form of video game avatars.
In this film, the jungle is the only setting where Johnson is seen since outside of the video game, his character doesn’t exist. While the tough archaeologist who can punch so hard that people go flying is right up Johnson’s alley, what makes this so memorable is that beneath his tough exterior is an awkward teenage boy. Johnson does some of his best work, especially comedically, playing with those differences. The film was a massive success that nearly grossed $1 billion, making it Johnson’s biggest jungle movie ever.
The Jumanji return was such a hit that a sequel was released just two years later, bringing Johnson back to his favorite setting. Jumanji: The Next Level begins when Spencer mysteriously returns to the Jumanji jungle, his friends must follow him. The twist this time around is that Spencer ends up as a different avatar and when his friends go to help, Spencer’s grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) is brought in as Xander. That allows Johnson to flex his comedic muscles even more, doing his take on a DeVito impersonation.
While the film sees the team back in the jungle, the stakes are upped this time around. The group battles enemies from the jungle to a sandy desert location to a snowy environment. Though not quite on the level of hit as the second installment, Jumanji: The Next Level was another blockbuster to the point where a new Jumanji movie is in the works, meaning Johnson will be back in the jungle soon.
In 2021, Dwayne Johnson appeared in two separate jungle movies. The first was Red Notice, an action comedy wherein Johnson’s character is FBI agent John Hartley. While investigating the location of a missing ancient artifact, he gets sucked into a competition between two art thieves. Although this movie has plenty of globetrotting, it does eventually land in a jungle in Argentina, where Johnson must once again cut through the branches and vines to find what he is looking for.
The film was noted for featuring three of the top stars in Hollywood as Johnson stars alongside Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds. Again, Johnson shines when placed next to a funny co-star as he and Reynolds showcase great chemistry throughout this. Despite being a brief foray into the jungle rather than an entire film dedicated to it, Red Notice is still a part of this trend and there might be more jungle action in the upcoming Red Notice sequels.
The sixth and final jungle movie Dwayne Johnson appears in, at least for now, even has jungle in the name. Disney’s Jungle Cruise movie follows Emily Blunt’s Dr. Lily Houghton as she recruits sarcastic boat captain, Johnson’s Frank Wolff, to help her travel down the Amazon River in search of a tree with healing properties. Once again, Johnson is placed in the wild terrain of the Amazon Rainforest, and this time, the jungle is something of its own character.
Since the movie is based on a Disney theme park ride, the filmmakers were able to incorporate aspects from the ride to help bring the setting to life. From swinging on vines to Johnson literally tackling a jaguar to the difficulty of navigating a river, Jungle Cruise is loaded with action-packed sequences. Plus, the Amazon River is actually something of a new and exciting addition to Johnson’s typical jungle themes. Although this is the latest Dwayne Johnson jungle movie, it most likely won’t be his last.