*UPDATE* THR is now reporting that Legendary has landed the rights to Dwayne Johnson and Rawson Marshall Thurber's action film, described earlier as Die Hard set in China. The film is actually titled Skyscraper and as you probably guessed it takes place in a mega-skyscraper in China. 1974 classic Towering Inferno was also name-checked as an influence on the project. *
They don't call Dwayne Johnson "franchise Viagra" for nothing. The former and occasional WWE superstar can turn pretty much any individual film into a blockbuster series just by showing up for work each day. The same will likely happen with his upcoming Kevin Hart comedy, Central Intelligence, but before we know if that's the case he's already going to re-team with its director for a different film set in China.
Johnson will reunite with writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber for an action movie described as "Die Hard in China". Details? Pfft! Who needs details when it's described as "Die Hard in China"? Unsurprisingly, the combination of Johnson and the biggest international market in the world caused a bidding war between Legendary/Universal, Sony, New Line, and Paramount with some huge money being thrown around.
There aren't many bankable stars left but Johnson is definitely one. After Central Intelligence he'll star in another potential franchise in the Baywatch remake, then he'll rejoin Vin Diesel for Fast 8. He also has the next season of HBO's Ballers, an eventual Shazam movie for Warner Bros., and a Jumanji remake alongside Hart and Jack Black. Wow. [Deadline]
