Hollywood megastar Dwayne Johnson has shared some new images from the set of the in-production, big-screen adaptation of the popular Midway arcade game Rampage. The new images feature Johnson, as well as co-stars Naomie Harris and The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Rampage follows Johnson as primatologist Davis Okoye, a man who keeps people at a distance, shares an unshakeable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silver-back gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry transforms this gentle ape into a raging monster. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered alpha predators. As these newly created monsters tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.
With said images, which you can see above and below, Johnson also offered up some new plot and character info to go with them. Referring to the image above, Johnson said:
“In this scene our Oscar winning Weta Digital (‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Avatar’ etc) is using their ground breaking ‘performance capture’ to bring ‘George’ the Silverback to life,” says Johnson of the first photo. “It uses over 30 special cameras to ‘see’ the performance of my co-actor [Jason Liles], allowing the digital artists to make the most realistic and badass animations possible. He’s wearing a ‘facial capture helmet’ and we can record every muscle movement and expression and emotion of George as goes on a rampage. Jason studied gorillas for months preparing for this performance capture role – facial expressions, sounds, habits and emotions. Spectacular performance. What a learning curve for me and such a pleasure to help produce these amazing artists who come to set daily to be game changers.”
The second picture does show off Harris and Morgan with Johnson in the film. The actor described their respective characters.
“Rampaging nights with my partners in crime, Naomie Harris and Jeffery Dean Morgan,” he added. “The animal loving anti-poacher Ranger from Rwanda, the groundbreaking geneticist from CRISPR and the cowboy himself from the OGA – the ‘other’ government agency.”
Rampage is set to open in cinemas next year. The film also stars Malin Akerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, P.J. Byrne, Marley Shelton, Breanne Hill, Jack Quaid, and Matt Gerald.
The project re-teams Johnson with his San Andreas director Brad Peyton. It will arrive in cinemas next April.
