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‘Red One’ Down: How Dwayne Johnson's Tardiness Led to a $250 Million Runaway Production

The inside story of how Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's "Red One" completely went off the rails in a Wrap special investigation.

Production issues — ranging from Johnson’s chronic lateness and lack of professionalism on set to producers’ inexperience — caused costs on the movie co-starring Chris Evans and J.K. Simmons to spiral upwards to a final budget over $250 million, a sum more fitting for a superhero tentpole. It comes on the heels of the highly publicized clashes between director Doug Liman and producer Joel Silver during the production of the “Road House” remake, whose controversy was extended by allegations of AI usage and questions about the film’s underlying copyrights. Production start dates on “Red One” were postponed twice due to Johnson’s commitments to the “Young Rock” series, the XFL’s relaunch and the extensive “Black Adam” press tour, which he hoped would position him as a major player in the DC Comics/Warner Bros. universe.

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