Dwayne Johnson is in the ring as Mark Kerr for A24's 1st look at upcoming 'Smashing Machine'

By Mason Leib

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is back in the ring in the first look for "The Smashing Machine."

The upcoming film from A24 stars Johnson alongside Emily Blunt and is written and directed by "Uncut Gems'" Benny Safdie, according to social media posts from A24 and Johnson.

The first look , posted Tuesday, shows Johnson nearly unrecognizable sitting in the corner of an MMA ring as trainers tend to him.

A24/Instagram

Dwayne Johnson plays Mark Kerr in A24's "The Smashing Machine."

An Instagram post from "The Rock" detailed training with Mark Kerr, the famed MMA fighter at the center of the film.

"Locking up with Mark, and feeling his press and power - it's no surprise he was an NCAA, UFC & VALE TUDO Heavyweight Champion," said Johnson in his post.

Getty Images

Mark Kerr, left, and Dwayne Johnson.

The post continued, "That's the A side to success. The B side tells a whole other story."Johnson also shared that "production begins filming this week."

Kerr had a largely successful MMA career in the UFC, though he struggled with addiction, a story which was told in the 2002 documentary "The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr."

Johnson found initial fame performing in the World Wrestling Federation, which later became World Wrestling Entertainment. Johnson became a board member in January of TKO Holdings, the company that was created after UFC and WWE merged in April 2023.