The bestDwayne Johnsonsequels include mostly a mix of movies he came into later in their existence, but a few were franchises he started from the ground up.Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been one of the biggest movie starsof the last two decades, making him one of the most successful former WWE superstars to make the jump to Hollywood. Johnson started as a typical action star inmovies like the underratedThe RundownandWalking Tall,but soon stepped up and became a blockbuster action star.
Other than hisfirst major role, a sequel toThe Mummyfranchiseanda role in the Elmore Leonard adaptationBe Cool.Johnson worked to make himself a marketable star in his own films for the first decade of his career. However, once he had made his name, he jumped into some major franchises, including follow-ups toJumanji,The Fast and the Furious,Journey to the Center of the Earth,andG.I. Joe.Add ina sequel to theMoanafranchise,and Dwayne Johnson has become the king of sequels.
The first movie thatDwayne Johnson appeared in wasThe Mummy Returns.He then returned two years later for a follow-up to that film.The Scorpion Kingsaw Johnson reprise the same role he played inThe Mummy Returns,but this time he was the lead -the first time in his career Johnson had a lead rolein a movie. He played Mathayus, a warrior in the Black Scorpions, who sought revenge after his father’s murder.
This was a prequel film showing how Mathayus became The Scorpion King before Imhotep summoned him years later to aid in his attack on humanity. It was an interesting turn since he was a villain inThe Mummy Returns,but this movie showed how that wasn’t always the case. It is the worst of Johnson’s sequels, receiving mostly negative reviews thanks to the cartoon-like CGI used to create Johnson’s Scorpion King.
In what served as a shock to manyG.I. Joefans, the sequel toG.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobradid away with some beloved team members and sent out brand-new characters for the second adventure. Channing Tatum’s Duke, the star of the first movie and the long-time Joe leader, was killed at the film’s beginning.One of these new members was Roadblock,played by Dwayne Johnson. Bruce Willis also signed on for a smaller role as the original Joe, General Joe Colton.
Reviews were mostly negative, with critics saying theG.I. Joesequel was better than the first movie but relied too heavily on the action and dismissed it for a “nonsensical” plot. With that said, the positive reviews proclaimed that the absurdity of the story made the movie fun, even if it made little sense.A thirdG.I. Joeteam movie never arrived, and a reboot followed eight years later withSnake Eyes.
WhileThe Mummy Returnswas a fun addition to the franchise, it fell short of the first movie for two big reasons. The first was that the special effects were a huge step down. The firstMummymovie had mostlyBrendan Fraser’s Rick O’Connellfighting Inhotep himself, and that looked great.The secondMummymovie had several things that just looked cartoony, making it impossible to have the same feeling as the first film, which was a beloved adventure movie. Both of those problems hurt Dwayne Johnson’s debut.
This was Johnson’s first-ever movie role, and director Stephen Sommers didn’t have him do too much. He was there to look like The Rock and provide the threat of The Scorpion King. However, the biggest problem was when Johnson showed up. His character looked like a video game representation of The Rock’s face, but on a weird-looking giant scorpion’s body. If the filmmakers wanted it to look threatening, they failed, as the Scorpion King’s appearance provided more laughs than gasps. Luckily, the movie was still decently fun, other than the CGI.
Dwayne Johnson’s first sequel was in the Brendan Fraser franchise,The Mummy.11 years later,Johnson replaced Fraser in a different franchise.In 2008. Fraser starred in Journey to the Center of the Earth,based on Jules Vernon’s novel of the same name.In that first movie, Fraser plays Trevor, a professor who ends up journeying through the center of the Earth based on what Verne wrote about in his novels (the movie posits that Verne’s novels were true accounts). In 2012, Johnson was the lead in the sequel.
Jules Verne wroteThe Mysterious Islandnovel in 1874.
Josh Hutcherson, who played Trevor’s nephew Sean in the first movie and was part of the adventure, is back as a 17-year-old in the sequel, now an adventurer based on his journey in the first installment. Vanessa Hudgens is also in the film, and the two youngsters end up lost on the mysterious island with Johnson’s former Navy officer, who is also Sean’s stepdad. It was an interesting role for Johnson, who played a no-nonsense stepfather against type, but he was a fan favorite, winning a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for his role.
Dwayne Johnson has been in fiveFast and Furiousmovies, not including the spin-off he was a lead in. This 10th movie was a return for Hobbs after missing the ninth film in the franchise. However, while the film was a great action tale, it was only half a movie and ended on a major cliffhanger, which left fans wondering what was going to happen next.Even worse, Johnson was not even part of the story.
Johnson showed up only in the post-credits scene.
Instead, Johnson showed up only in the post-credits scene, where he investigated where the villain Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) worked from, only to find out that the villain was looking to come after Luke Hobbs next. It was a nice surprise, but when it comes to Dwayne Johnson movies, it falls below every other appearance in theFast and Furiousfranchise.
WhenBe Coolcame out in 2005, Dwayne Johnson had proven he was a legitimate action star, but he hadn’t proven he could step outside that comfort zone. He got that chance whenhe took a supporting role in the Elmore Leonard adaptation,Be Cool.This was a sequel toGet Shorty,which starred John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a Miami-based loan shark who loves movies. The movie’s other two stars (Rene Russo and Danny DeVito) were not involved in the sequel, with only Travolta making the return.
The story in the second installment sees Chili Palmer bored with the movie industry and finding a new love in the music industry, where he helps Linda Moon, a small-time club singer, get out from under the thumb of criminal producers. This is where he meets the producers' Samoan bodyguard, Elliot. Johnson stepped out of his comfort zone here,playing Elliot as a gay Samoan villainwith a very flamboyant personality and style. Johnson stole every scene he appeared in and proved he could act when needed.
Fast & Furious 6was Dwayne Johnson’s second movie in the franchise. After working as one of the antagonists in his first appearance, as he spent most of the film trying to arrest Dom and his crew,Luke Hobbs was fully onboard as a good guyin his second appearance. This film sees Luke Hobbs seek out Dom to ask for help in stopping a new criminal on the scene named Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), and it puts Dom and his crew working with law enforcement for the first time, changing the franchise.
Seeing Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel fight inFast Fivewas great, but seeing them team up in the sixth movie was the start of a change in the entire franchise’s dynamic and storylines. Johnson’s arrival helped transition the series from a car heist series to an action-adventure franchise that eventually morphed into an almost superhero series by the time Johnson had left. Johnson began to integrate himself as one of the main stars, starting in this movie.
Dwayne Johnson helped lead the way in theJumanjireboot-sequel in 2017 withJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.A loose sequel to the Robin Williams movie from 1995 changed the story by having the kids who find the game board go into that world instead of the animals from that world coming into the real world. However, when they arrive in that world, they end up in the bodies of the game’s characters,one of whom is portrayed by Dwayne Johnson.
This was a great Johnson performance, as he channeled DeVIto’s movements and mannerisms.
In this third movie, the sequel toWelcome to the Jungle, the characters end up being put into different bodies, which created much of the humor. Instead of Johnson being the avatar for the brainy Spencer, like the first movie, he ended up the avatar for Eddie,Spencer’s grandfather (Danny DeVito).This was a great Johnson performance, as he channeled DeVIto’s movements and mannerisms brilliantly. The film wasn’t as good asWelcome to the Jungle, but it was a fun turn for Johnson.
Dwayne Johnson left theFast and Furiousmain franchise after he and Vin Diesel had a falling out. However, he remained in the franchise when he signed on for a spinoff movie,Hobbs and Shaw.This sawJohnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw team upto stop terrorists from releasing a supervirus on the world. This was similar to what Johnson and Diesel did years earlier in the main series, but this combination actually worked better.
Dwayne Johnson’sFast and FuriousAppearances
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There was no connection here to theFast and Furiousfranchise other than Hobbs and Shaw having their rivalry built there, but this was a great film that stood on its own and works well for even people who don’t know much about the main series' story. The film was a monster success, thanks to the chemistry of Statham and Johnson, and while there hasn’t been a sequel yet, this is a series that could have legs if the two stars teamed up for another adventure.
In the first Disney animatedMoanamovie, Dwayne Johnson proved to be a major star. His singing was great, and his song “You’re Welcome” was a huge hit that ended up climbing to 65th on the Billboard music charts.TheMoanasequel didn’t have any song that was a hit,and Johnson’s main songs didn’t reach the level of anything he sang in the first movie, and Johnson had a smaller role this time around.
While the firstMoanahad the titular character and Maui as mismatched partners battling a great evil, Moana had to find Maui here and then the two were split up for much of the film. However, once the film got its feet under it, the story held up to the first installment, with Maui and Moana helping each other find who they are supposed to be in the end. While the first movie was an Oscar favorite, the second wasn’t even nominated.
