Dwayne Johnson’s producing partner, Hiram Garcia, is explaining why we haven’t gotten sequels to Rampage or San Andreas. Garcia confirms that the studios want Johnson to return for sequels to several of his franchises but he revealed the actor would rather explore other stories in different films.
During a chat with Collider, Garcia said that sequels to the likes of Rampage, San Andreas, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island are frequently being discussed but Johnson is such a franchise spawning machine, that it’s a matter of the actor choosing if follow-ups need to be explored or if he even has time to do so:
“It’s funny that you say that, and the truth is people always ask because we’re in a very fortunate situation where our partners always want a sequel to everything, right? It’s a matter of our slate and the stories we want to tell. We’re very calculating in what we want to tell, but, look, if our studio partners had their ways, they want a Journey 2: Mysterious Island sequel, they want a San Andreas sequel, they want a Rampage sequel. It’s like all of those movies, the studio was clamoring for a sequel, but we felt collectively, ‘Look, we told a great version of the story. Now, we want to go to tell another story somewhere else.'”
Johnson is certainly in a unique position as a movie star because several of his films can certainly be given the sequel treatment. He has been confirmed for more follow-ups in the world of Jumanji and Hobbs & Shaw while fan demand may determine if we get a sequel to Red Notice. Garcia is aware that if the studios had their way and got a sequel to every film they wanted, Johnson would never stop working. How is that any different from his working regimen now? Garcia goes on to explain:
“But it is a very funny thing where if he did the sequel for everything that there was a request for a sequel, he would literally never not be working. He’s just been very selective about what he chooses to come back for sequels. So the Fast Universe was one of those, obviously Jumanji. We have very big plans, obviously, for the DC Universe, if the fans perceive the way we want. We have a lot of stories planned for that. But it is a challenge of balancing, ‘Okay, what are the sequels we’re going to do,’ because we’ve been very fortunate that the majority of the projects we’ve done, there’s been a request for sequel, and his availability has always been the thing that made it a challenge.”
Needless to say, this is an excellent problem for Johnson to have. He’s in very high demand and he’s typically an investment worth banking on. Having the ability to pick and choose only solidifies his place as one of the biggest movie stars in the world and it looks like he has no plans to slow down.
Which Dwayne Johnson films do you think deserve the sequel treatment?