Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is set to lead Martin Scorsese's new movie, which is being described as Goodfellas meets The Departed

Dwayne Johnson in Ballers
(Image credit: HBO)

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is set to lead Martin Scorsese's new mafia drama – and we're here for it.

Deadline has described Johnson's character as "Robert De Niro's Jimmy the Gent character from Goodfellas, but as a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, based on a real figure, who battled encroaching rivals for control of organized crime in Hawaii."

The upcoming pic, which does not yet have a title, takes place during a "turbulent time" on the island of paradise when "an aspiring mob boss battled rival crime factions to wrest control of the underworld of the Hawaiian islands." Deadline adds that the movie will cover the same "kind of terrain that Scorsese explored in both Goodfellas and The Departed."

Scorsese will direct from a screenplay penned by Nick Bilton, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt set to star. No other casting announcements have been made at this time.

Johnson is currently starring alongside Blunt in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine, in which he plays former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr. This will mark the first link-up for Johnson and Scorsese, though this will be the eighth movie collaboration for the director and DiCaprio.

Scorsese's upcoming projects also include a biographical film about the life of Jesus and a biopic about Frank Sinatra reportedly starring DiCaprio, both of which he planned to film back-to-back but are currently on hold.

The untitled Johnson mafia drama does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, skip right to our list of movie release dates.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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