Dwayne Johnson is all set to play John Henry in New Netflix movie John Henry and the Statesmen, so reports Variety. The action star will play folk legend Henry in the new production from writer Tom Wheeler and director Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle).
The film marks Johnson’s first movie for Netflix and adds the title to his massive upcoming slate that includes the likes of Red Notice, Jungle Cruise and the in-production Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs and Shaw.
“Netflix is the perfect partner and platform for us to continue entertaining our global audience in a disruptive way,” Johnson said to the trade. “These diverse characters speak to a legacy of storytelling that is more relevant than ever and span across a worldwide audience regardless of age, gender, race, or geography.”
John Henry is an African American folk hero. He is said to have worked as a “steel-driving man”—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel (Wikipedia).
