Kevin Hart is no stranger to being part of a comedy duo. Earlier this year, he and Ice Cube topped their box office weekend premiere of Ride Along 2, grossing $41.5 million. But lately, the hard-working comedian has been teaming up with a new partner to deliver laughs — action movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The 5’4 funnyman and his Herculean counterpart hosted the 25th MTV Movie Awards together on April 10. Hart, a genius at his brand of self-deprecating humor, was an odd, yet entertaining balance next to Johnson, who’s funny in his own right.
“You can’t teach funny. You either have it, or you don’t. And what DJ has is that ‘I don’t give a s— attitude,’” Hart told Entertainment Weekly about Johnson’s comedic chops.
The actors are now preparing for the June 17 premiere of their new buddy comedy, Central Intelligence. Johnson plays handsome CIA agent Bob, who was an outcast in high school. The only person who showed him any kindness was Calvin, played by Hart. Twenty years later, Bob now needs Calvin’s help to crack a case, and although Calvin wants nothing to do with it, he’s forced into all kinds of mischief.
When EW asked the actors what the “special sauce” will be in this film, Hart jokingly replied, “Me. I think it has a little bit of special Kev sauce, which definitely helps.”
Johnson chimed in, “Yeah. And my good looks.”
Now rumor has it that the duo is eying another potential blockbuster hit, according to Variety. Sony will be rebooting the 1995 box office success, Jumanji, which was based on the 1981 children’s book of the same title written by Chris Van Allsburg.
The original film centered on a young boy, Alan Parrish, who finds a magic board game, becomes trapped in it for decades and goes through a wild adventure to find his way out. Robin Williams played an older Parrish. David Alan Grier and Kirsten Dunst also starred in the film.
Jumanji was among the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 1995, grossing $262.8 million worldwide.
Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner are the writers of the remake’s script, which will be based on the original film’s draft written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Jake Kasdan will serve as director.
Hart and Johnson will be ridiculously busy within the next 1-3 years, with 14 film and television projects in total lined up between the two of them. But it’s likely that if they add the Jumanji remake to their schedule, it could be just as huge a hit as the first. Additionally, if audiences come out in droves to see Central Intelligence, Hart and Johnson may continue their great success as Hollywood’s newest odd couple.
