Dwayne Johnson to film Skyscraper in China

The actor previously played a helicopter rescue pilot in San Andreas (pictured).

“Research for this film has been a real education for me – and that's saying a lot considering my horrible freshman year GPA (Grade Point Average) – from meeting with the world’s top skyscraper architects to spending amazing time with our US combat and disabled vets,” Johnson commented on social media of his role in Skyscraper.

The project is being produced by California-based Legendary, which was recently bought by the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda.

Legendary is currently filming scenes in China for Pacific Rim: Uprising, a sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 monster movie.

Co-productions between US and Chinese studios are becoming more commonplace and offer Hollywood an easier way to access the lucrative Chinese market.

Historical fantasy The Great Wall is the biggest ever US-China co-production and filmed entirely in China in English with Matt Damon leading the cast. The film’s underperformance at the box-office – and particularly in the US – may lead to co-production methods being reassessed.

Mainland China itself is not considered particularly film-friendly by international producers and location managers. However, the country’s investment in film infrastructure means it could become the dominant Asian production hub in the next few years.

Image: Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./WV Films IV LLC/Ratpac-Dune Entertainment