While the franchise appeared to be riding high after the success of the second movie, Journey 3: From The Earth To The Moon was ultimately canceled and the Journey 3 movie is officially not happening, The series launched with 2008’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth, which was based on the famous novel by Jules Verne and starred Brendan Fraser and Josh Hutcherson. Reviewers found the movie gimmicky due to its use of 3D but it was a solid hit for the studio. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island adapted another Jules Verne novel The Mysterious Island with Dwayne Johnson replacing Brendan Fraser as the main protagonist.
Journey 2 was an even bigger hit than the original, with reviews praising the inclusion of Johnson as the franchise’s new leading man. Journey 3 was soon confirmed by the studio, which would adapt Verne’s From The Earth To The Moon. It appeared the studio was so confident in the future of the blossoming franchise they were planning to film Journey 4 alongside Journey 3. Dwayne Johnson was becoming a major star During this era, with his inclusion in Fast Five credited with bringing that franchise to a whole new audience, while 2013’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation was considered an improvement on the original thanks to his starring role. Yet even with his star power, Journey 3 stalled.
Journey 3 Proved Too Hard To Write
Journey 3 & 4 were still being planned around this time, but it appears Johnson’s hectic workload and focus on other projects kept pushing them back. Almost nothing was heard about Journey 3 between 2015 to 2018 when Johnson confirmed Journey 3 was canceled because they couldn’t crack the script. This wasn’t much of a shock, considering it had been six years since Journey 2 by that point and there had been little sign of movement on the project. Following the gigantic success of Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Johnson moved his attention to that family-friendly adventure franchise with a similar tone which has already become more successful.
In the same way The Mummy star Brendan Fraser was replaced by Johnson, the studio could have brought on a new lead actor for Journey 3. However, further recasting would not help the franchise losing both Johnson and Fraser. While the first two movies were fun adventures, Journey wasn’t a franchise that had a burning fanbase either, so it’s easy to see how it fell between the cracks. Johnson’s admission they had trouble coming up with a solid script indicates it might be a good thing Journey 3 didn’t ultimately move ahead too.
Director Brad Peyton and Johnson reteamed again for 2018’s video game adaptation Rampage, and while San Andreas 2 was planned, that feels like another sequel that got lost in the shuffle of Dwayne Johnson’s franchise-heavy schedule. It’s disappointing Journey 3: From The Earth To The Moon didn’t come together, but audiences will have plenty of other Dwayne Johnson movies in the future to make up for it.
The Movies Journey Fans Can See Dwayne Johnson In Instead
Sadly for Journey fans, the past few years have brought with them no signs that Journey 3 might be back on Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming slate. Even with the lackluster performance of Black Adam in the DCU, The Rock has kept busy, with Jungle Cruise in particular honoring the spirit of the Journey franchise. Johnson also starred in Netflix’s action/comedy Red Notice alongside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. He’s also set to star in Jake Kasdan’s holiday adventure film Red One alongside Chris Evans in 2023. These may not be Journey 3, but considering how much Johnson’s presence contributed to the fun of the Journey movies, it’s better than nothing.
The Rock Entered The DCEU Twice In 1 Year
The multi-talented Dwayne Johnson also broke new ground in 2022 by making his debut in the superhero genre. The Rock actually joined the DCU twice over in the same year with both Black Adam and DC League of Super-Pets. He plays the titular villain/anti-hero in the former movie, and in the latter, he voices Superman’s pet, Krypto the Superdog. For fans of Johnson’s signature brand of humor, the animated DC League of Super-Pets delivered this in spades, particularly because Johnson was joined by one of his most consistent and hilarious co-stars, Kevin Hart, who voices Ace the Bat-Hound.
Black Adam, on the other hand, was a much darker film. Black Adam’s DC Comics origin is a gruesome one, and the character mainly appears as an antagonist to Shazam and Superman, although Dwayne Johnson’s film shifted that narrative somewhat focusing on Black Adam as a standalone character. This move into the DCU proved unsuccessful with Black Adam sequels already being nixed, the Superman cameo becoming awkward after Henry Cavill’s recasting, and the box-office failure of Shazam!: Fury of the Gods. Perhaps this set back will cause Johnson to rethink Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon.