Dwayne Johnson has lined up his next original action film, "Free Byrd", in which he will play a Las Vegas motorcycle stuntman in the mould of Evel Knievel who, having been diagnosed with dementia, hides his condition and attempts one final death-defying jump to secure his legacy. The project marks another dramatic, character-driven turn for Johnson following the muted reception of "The Smashing Machine", and pairs him with Artists Equity, the production company founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

The film will be directed by Greg Kwedar, known for "Sing Sing" and Oscar-nominated for his "Train Dreams" script, who is also rewriting the screenplay. Originally written by Jon Boyer as a Black List script and later reworked by "The Peanut Butter Falcon" duo Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson, it is produced by Gil Netter, Kwedar and Clint Bentley for Ethos, with Johnson producing via Seven Bucks Productions, as a Fifth Season production. It remains in development with no release date, while Johnson has several other films on the way, including the live-action "Moana", "Jumanji: Open World", "Fast Forever" and "Lizard Music".