The Smashing Machine’s Emily Blunt recently revealed details about her next project with costar Dwayne Johnson: a Hawaii-set mob movie helmed by Martin Scorsese. Before The Smashing Machine, Blunt and Johnson starred in the 2021 fantasy action film Jungle Cruise.
Emily Blunt teases Dwayne Johnson’s role in Martin Scorsese’s Hawaii-set mob movie
Emily Blunt discussed her upcoming collaboration with Dwayne Johnson and Martin Scorsese at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills at the premiere of her new film, The Smashing Machine (via Deadline).
Blunt dubbed the project an “astonishing story.” She said, “We’re developing it right now. It’s a really astonishing story. It’s the last great American mob story, and I can’t believe it hasn’t been told yet.”
The Academy Award nominee teased that Johnson’s character in the movie would be “terribly exciting” for the Red One star to “dig into.” She added, “So, it’s being written, we’re working on it. And that’s the wonderful part, is building it.”
Scorsese’s pitch for the project compares Johnson’s character to Robert De Niro’s Jimmy Conway from Goodfellas. It also details that the project will be set in the ’60s and ’70s and will revolve around an aspiring mob boss who battle “encroaching rivals for control of organized crime on the islands.” Wilford “Nappy” Pulawa reportedly serves as inspiration for the mob boss in question.
Nick Bilton is writing the script. According to a February 2025 report from Deadline, Leonardo DiCaprio is also part of the project as a cast member and producer. DiCaprio is a frequent collaborator of Scorsese.
Earlier this month, various outlets, including ComingSoon, reported that the pair would work on a StudioCanal movie alongside Jennifer Lawrence. That is a different project from the one featuring Blunt and Johnson.
In March 2025, a separate Deadline report stated that Disney was close to securing the rights to the Hawaii-based period crime drama. It currently doesn’t have a release date.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on ComingSoon.
