An unrecognizable Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is getting a lot of love for his latest MMA movie.
The WWE superstar-turned-actor has seen his fair share of blockbusters throughout his career, starring in the widely-popular Fast & Furious franchise, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, The Mummy Returns, Black Adam and many more films, including Disney’s box-office hit Moana.
Dwayne Johnson hasn’t always received his flowers for his acting chops, typecasted or playing very similar roles from action hero to mercenary muscle.
However, when it comes to training MMA and playing a UFC legend, ‘The Rock’ received a solid reception from a trailer alone.
- READ MORE: Who is Mark Kerr? The UFC fighter Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson plays in new ‘The Smashing Machine’ film
Overwhelming fan reaction for ‘The Smashing Machine’ trailer
Taking on the role of MMA pioneer, former UFC heavyweight tournament winner Mark Kerr, Johnson stars in the upcoming A24 biopic ‘The Smashing Machine’.
The film, set to release on Oct. 3, follows the story of Kerr navigating his career in UFC and Pride as well as opioid addiction and his rocky relationship with his girlfriend Dawn Staples, played by Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place, Edge of Tomorrow).
Johnson had quite the transformation for the role with a set of hair and facial prosthetics, the new trailer leaving fans begging for more.
“Finally a serious movie from The Rock. It looks and feels fantastic,” one fan commented on the trailer.
“The makeup department honestly did a good job here,” another fan wrote of Johnson’s reimagined look. “Typically films will have an actor play someone from real life but they don’t really try to make the actor look like the person. This is true film-making right here.”
“Finalllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy The Rock is getting Acting GOLD!!” one fan said.
“The Rock looks totally unrecognizable. Good on him for finally stepping out of the white shirt and typical comfort zone roles he usually always does,” another fan wrote.
“Dwayne is coming for that Oscar,” one fan wrote on X.
“Finalllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy The Rock is getting Acting GOLD!!” a fan commented.
“See, The Rock can act!” another fan said.
“The Rock, in his acting debut… good to see,” a fan joked.
‘The Smashing Machine’ trailer features combat sports royalty
Joining Dwayne Johnson along for the ride is a star-studded cast among the combat sports world.
Boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Oleksandr Usyk is set to make his live-action acting debut as Ukrainian MMA legend Igor Vovchanchyn, who fought Kerr in Pride while he was undefeated.
Usyk was featured in the trailer as well as former Bellator two-division champion Ryan Bader. Bader plays the role of Kerr’s best friend, former UFC Champion Mark Coleman.
Additionally, Japanese fighter Satoshi Ishii plays the role of Enson Inoue and former UFC Heavyweight Bas Rutten (Here Comes The Boom) plays himself.