Dwayne Johnson as MMA fighter Mark Kerr sitting glum on the floor of a gym in his workout clothes from The Smashing Machine trailer A24

THE SMASHING MACHINE Trailer: Transformed Dwayne Johnson Battles Himself

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Michael Walsh | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 11:12 AM ET

Jungle Cruise stars Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson are reuniting on screen. But while their latest movie together definitely won’t be appropriate for kids, it might be appropriate for Oscar voters. We’re already wondering if both could be looking at future Academy Award nominations for The Smashing Machine, because the film’s emotional new trailer looks like a powerhouse about a powerhouse. You can watch the second trailer for The Smashing Machine below.

If you’ve also grown frustrated by Dwayne Johnson’s choices of films, it looks like we don’t have anything to complain about with his next role. Johnson is taking on a much more serious role in writer-director Benny Safdie’s new MMA film. Despite playing real-life mixed martial arts legend Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, Johnson is about as far away from his “The Rock” persona as he can be in this trailer. There’s no larger-than-life bravado or showmanship. He’s quiet, contemplative, and pained. Of course, he still looks like he could fight a bear and win, but this time he’s doing it with hair. (Which is a welcome change!)

Just as good in The Smashing Machine‘s trailer is Emily Blunt. She’s playing Kerr’s wife at the time, Dawn Staples. While this film clearly isn’t shying away from the brutality of the sport that made Kerr a legend, it looks like it’s grounded in its characters, with Kerr and Staples at the center.

The film, which comes from A24, also stars Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk. It had its world premiere at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. It earned the Silver Lion award for Best Director. The movie is also earning praise from critics after it screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. But the rest of us will have to wait another month to see if The Smashing Machine is as much of a winner as its trailer and critical reception suggest. It arrives in theaters everywhere on October 3, 2025.

Not only do we hope it’s good, we hope it does well. Then maybe Dwayne Johnson will keep taking on more serious roles, especially if the Academy Awards reward him for this one.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

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