Usyk and «The Rock» are preparing for the fight: the trailer of the sports drama «The Smashing Machine» about UFC legend Mark Kerr has been released

A24 has released the first trailer for The Smashing Machine — a biographical sports drama about UFC heavyweight legend Mark Kerr, played by Dwayne «The Rock» Johnson.

Kerr is a mixed martial artist who competed from 1997 to 2009 and won four ADCC world championships. In 2002, a documentary was made about the fighter (also called «Wrecking Ball»Wrecking Ball — is the nickname Kerr earned for his uncompromising fighting style), focusing, among other things, on his substance abuse problems and tumultuous relationships with his wife and coaches. Now we are offered a more artistic depiction of the events.

Johnson himself, before becoming a movie star, was also a fighter (hence the nickname The Rock), making his WWE debut in 1996 and becoming an eight-time WWE Champion and two-time WCW Championship winner.

Among the rest of the cast: Emily Blunt as Kerr’s wife Dawn Staples, Bas Rutten, Lindsay Gavin, and Oleksandr Usyk, who plays Ukrainian fighter Igor Vovchanchyn, who defeated Kerr in 1999. In the film, Vovchanchyn will be a serious physical and psychological test for Kerr, and Usyk has his biggest cinematic role yet — he has been working on MMA technique, consulting with professional trainers and watching archival footage of fights to recreate the fighter’s style as accurately as possible.

«Killing Machine» — is the second collaboration between Johnson and Blunt since Disney’s «Jungle Cruise» 2021, which will continue with Martin Scorsese’s upcoming crime thriller.

Benny Safdie, who worked with his brother on «Cut Jewels» and «Good Times», makes his debut as a solo director and screenwriter with «The Smashing Machine». He is also an actor and has joined the giant star cast of the upcoming «Odyssey» Christopher Nolan.

The film’s theatrical premiere is scheduled for October 3.

Source: Variety, EW