Dwayne Johnsons Demands For Jumanji 3 Could Put His Return In Doubt
Dwayne Johnson supposedly wants the biggest payday ever to return for Jumanji 3.
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Dwayne Johnson is inarguably one of the biggest blockbuster stars in Hollywood today. His magnetic personality and leading man prowess have helped catapult him to the highest stratosphere of movie stars. Many fans have been anticipating that he would return to one of his more beloved franchises, Jumanji, but a new rumor says that his particular demands are preventing the third film in the series from getting off the ground.
According to a report from insider Daniel Richtman, Dwayne Johnson is requesting a massive payday to return in Jumanji 3. Specifically, Richtman claims that “The Rock wants to be the highest-paid actor in Hollywood and get more money than [Robert Downey Jr.] did on Endgame for Jumanji 3.” For context, Robert Downey Jr. had an upfront salary of $20 million for Avengers: Endgame, but he also received 8% in back-end points which translates to about $55 million. So, Robert Downey Jr. received around $75 million for his inclusion in Avengers: Endgame.
That is a gargantuan windfall of cash, but exactly how much is Dwayne Johnson purportedly asking for Jumanji 3? Is he asking for a larger base salary and an even larger percentage on the back-end? We don’t have the specifics so it is all just speculation at this point. But if Richtman’s report is true, our assumption is that Johnson is hoping to clear more than $75 million after Jumanji 3 has performed its full run at movie theaters. Just how much larger a payday could that be? Is he getting close to a $100 million paycheck for the film?
One has to wonder if Jumanji 3 is worth such a massive payday for Dwayne Johnson. The law of diminishing returns says that the third film will perform the weakest out of the three movies. Is the studio willing to pay the actor such a humungous chunk of cash for a movie that might not perform as well as they expect? And in comparison to Robert Downey Jr.’s involvement in Avengers: Endgame, that was an enormous culmination point for pop culture. But Jumanji 3? That does not seem anywhere near as momentous an occasion.
Could Dwayne Johnson be using the payday tactic as a way to get out of Jumanji 3? That’s definitely a strategy that stars can use if they want out of a particular project. They ask for a ridiculously large amount that they know the studio won’t cough up and that gives them a way out of their contract. Or they are highballing the studio with the hopes that they can negotiate their way down to a lower figure that will still be sizable.
If this report is true, there could be a number of different reasons why Dwayne Johnson is asking for a record-breaking payday. It could be that he believes that’s how much his time and involvement are worth. We will simply have to wait and see if this ends up being confirmed and if Jumanji 3 is able to get off the ground and running in the next year or so.
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