Dwayne Johnson is leading the film adaptation of It Takes Two for Prime Video.
The Red Notice star has signed on to co-produce the project alongside Amazon Studios (per Variety), with Sonic the Hedgehog duo Pat Casey and Josh Miller serving as lead writers. There's no word yet on whether Johnson himself will star in the film, though Variety reports that it remains a possibility at this early stage of development.
Considered one of the best games of 2021, It Takes Two tells the endearing story of parents Cody and May, a feuding couple who find themselves (thanks to a bit of magic) playing as two of their daughter's homemade dolls. The couple must work together to escape their situation, while following the advice of an anthropomorphic therapy book that is determined to prevent their divorce.
If that sounds like an offbeat story choice for a Hollywood megastar like Dwayne Johnson, you're not the only one who thinks so. Johnson has experience adapting video games for the big screen: he starred in 2005's Doom and 2018's Rampage, but It Takes Two falls far short of the bullets and punch of his previous projects.
Alongside Johnson and his frequent collaborators Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, It Takes Two's original developers Josef Fares and Oskar Wolontis of Hazelight Studios will also produce the film, suggesting that fans will enjoy a faithful account of the story of Cody and May.
Is this the "badass" video game adaptation that Johnson teased?
While promoting his upcoming DCEU movie, Black Adam, in January 2022, Johnson told Men's Health that he was working on a film adaptation for "one of the biggest, badass games" of them all. the times.
"I can't tell you what particular game we're making, but there will be an announcement this year," the actor said at the time. "I'm very excited to bring it to fans around the world. Of course, we'll do what's right for our fellow gamers, but really, we're just going to make a great movie."
Could It Takes Two be the mystery film Johnson was referring to? In our opinion, no. As brilliant as Hazelight Studios' platformer is, it would be hard to justify describing it as "badass." Furthermore, Johnson revealed that the game in question is one "that I've played for years" - It Takes Two only released in March 2021.
So it's almost certain that Johnson was referring to another video game title. He has previously expressed his love for the Madden and Call of Duty franchises, while Gears of War and Fornite have been touted as other possible candidates.
In any case, since the actor has promised that an announcement will arrive "this year", we expect confirmation of the mysterious title in the coming months.
Until then, we're very excited to see Johnson's vision for an It Takes Two movie. Sure, he's an unexpected choice for a man of his stature, but the game's story definitely lends itself to a Borrowers-esque adaptation.
A release date for the project has yet to be unveiled, but we don't expect It Takes Two to hit Prime Video until 2023 at the earliest.