Summary

*Fighting With My Family* is headed for another format, as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Stephen Merchant are adapting the 2019 film into a stage musical.

The movie told the story of Paige's rise from the Knight family wrestling scene to WWE, with Florence Pugh starring as Paige. Johnson was an executive producer on the film, and Merchant wrote and directed it.

The latest adaptation would bring that same story to live theater, with both Johnson and Merchant backing the project.

Quotes

Quote from Stephen Merchant

"A young woman from the ‘chorus line’ fighting to get her big break, surrounded by theatrical, larger-than-life characters and huge sweeping emotions. I approached each wrestling match like it was a different dance number, building to a big show-stopping finale. Seeing the film reimagined for the stage feels like the natural next step."

Quote from The Rock

"Fighting With My Family is exceptionally well-suited for the stage. It’s packed with personal emotion expressed through the dynamic world of wrestling, which has always been about storytelling and connecting with a live audience. Working with Stephen Merchant on the film was a truly special experience, and his brilliant work deserves this new act. As it comes to life musically, I have no doubt it will be an absolute blast for theatergoers."

What it means for Paige and WWE

Paige's story is now set to reach a new audience again, this time through live theater, which keeps one of WWE's most unusual modern success stories in circulation well beyond the original film. It also says something about the staying power of *Fighting With My Family*, because Johnson and Merchant are not just revisiting the project, they are expanding it into another medium built around live crowd reaction.

The source material also noted that Paige returned to WWE at WrestleMania 42, which gives the adaptation a little more present-day relevance than it would have had as a pure retrospective.

Sources

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter.