Add to that the hiring of the legendaryJohn Wooto elevate the action sequences with his cinematic Hong Kong style.
Unfortunately, the world was not ready for this ambitious action-adventure epic.
What Is ‘Spy Hunter’ About?
Image via Universal Pictures
The games popularity in the arcades spawned sequels and spinoffs for multiple gaming platforms.
Joe: The Rise of Cobra) wasan action-packed spectaclewith chase sequences rivalingRaiders of the Lost ArkandBad Boys II.
Johnson was set to play Alex Decker, a special agent of the International Espionage Service (I.E.S.)
Image via Midway
whose purpose is to combat an enemy organization NOSTRA.
who possesses a military encryption code to dive into the Pentagon.
One of the games popular features was the Interceptors ability to transform into other vehicles, including a speedboat.
When Woo signed on to directSpy Hunter, he already hadMission: Impossible 2under his belt.
As his biggest Hollywood hit, Woo helpedTom Cruisetransition from dramatic heartthrob to bonafide action star.
Butthe dream of Johnson and Woo togetherwould not come to pass.
Johnson’s ‘Red One’ has under-performed at the box office.
The rewrites caused production delays year after year.
Come 2006, Johnson suffered from several box-office disappointments.
Image via HBO
One notable flop was an adaptation of another video game classic,Doom, which was produced by Universal.
Though the project had its share of restarts and pauses, includingResident Evils Paul W.S.
Beattie reflected on the experience in a2009 interview with Colliderwhen he still held out hope forSpy Hunters future.
“But until then it just needs that filmmaker that a studio will trust with that kind of budget.
But being a fun, summer movie and with Dwayne, it would kill.”
