Dwayne Johnson filming Jungle Cruise in Hawaii

Jaume Collet-Serra will direct Johnson in the film that will be a period story based on the jungle cruise ride concept. Emily Blunt and British comedian Jack Whitehall are among Johnson’s co-stars on the movie.

Disney will be hoping to develop a lucrative franchise from the film, following the example of the Pirates of the Caribbean series that has generated five movies since 2003.

Hawaii is a popular filming location for jungle-set screen stories. Johnson also shot Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (pictured) on the US archipelago and fantasy sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is among the other recent big-budget studio features to have filmed on the islands.

What Hawaii does not yet offer are purpose-built studio facilities suitable for Hollywood shoots. As a result, Jungle Cruise is also scheduled to shoot scenes in US production hub Atlanta later in the year.

Marvel’s TV series The Inhumans converted a former Oahu naval base into a studio facility last year, but big-budget productions usually film their studio work elsewhere in the world.

See KFTV's production guide for more on filming in Hawaii.

Image: Frank Masi/Sony Pictures Entertainment