Based on the popular 1980s arcade game of the same name, Rampage casts Johnson as a primatologist who’s forced into action when the albino silverback gorilla he’s been working with for years is transformed into a raging behemoth by a genetic experiment gone awry. He soon discovers that his gorilla pal George isn’t the only animal affected by the experiment, and he must contend with a trio of massive beasts tearing across North America while attempting to secure an antidote for the effects of the genetic experiment.
Along with Johnson in the lead role of Davis Okoye, the film’s cast also includes Academy Award nominee Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Malin Akerman (Watchmen) Jake Lacy (Girls), Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike), and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead). The film reunites Johnson with San Andreas director Brad Peyton, who helms the film from a script that was penned by Ryan Engle (Non-Stop) and Adam Sztykiel (Due Date).
The announcement of a Rampage movie was first made almost exactly six years ago in November 2011, but it wasn’t until 2015 that Johnson was cast in the lead role and the project gained some momentum. At the time when it was first announced, studio New Line Cinema indicated that its vision for a Rampage movie would be inspired by the “title and the visuals of the game” and would be in “the vein and tone of Ghostbusters and Independence Day.”
The original Rampage arcade game was released in 1986 and had players take control of a human who had been transformed into a giant monster — either a giant ape named George, a giant lizard name Lizzy, or a giant werewolf named Ralph. Players would fight off various military units while trying to destroy the city.
The game spawned four sequels that had players destroying new cities around the world, in space, and even throughout various points in history. A puzzle game based on the franchise was also released in 2001.
Rampage is scheduled to start rampaging through theaters on April 20, 2018.
