Dwayne Johnson Suffered An Injury During A24's Mark Kerr Movie & It Looks Brutal

After the box office failure of "Black Adam" and the critically maligned "Red Notice," it appeared as though Dwayne Johnson might be entering his VOD era. However, things are looking up thanks to Johnson seemingly taking a pretty risky career move portraying MMA fighter Mark Kerr for a new A24 drama, "The Smashing Machine," directed by Benny Safdie. It's a far cry from the action-adventure roles he usually goes after, but the casting has already proven to have one major downside. 

On June 11, Johnson uploaded a video to Instagram to showcase a swollen elbow he sustained while filming the new A24 flick. Judging by the way he describes it, the injury sounds intense: "It looks like I have a cantaloupe in the bottom of my elbow. I got banged up pretty good today in our scenes, and there might be some soft tissue damage in there," he wrote.

Through it all, Johnson maintains an upbeat disposition, even providing some words of wisdom he received from his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson. "He always used to say, 'A day without pain is like a day without sunshine, boy.'" Early set photos from "The Smashing Machine" present an unrecognizable Dwayne Johnson, but the Instagram post sees the actor in all his likable glory. And in true Johnson fashion, he ends the video by plugging his tequila, Teremana, because the grind never stops when it comes to The Rock. 

Numerous movies have caused serious damage to actors' bodies, and it would appear "The Smashing Machine" will now join those ranks. In his video, Dwayne Johnson brings up needing an MRI, although that'll require decreasing the fluid in the wound site. He also asks his legions of fans if they have any advice on anti-inflammatories to help, with the comments filling up with people offering their medical wizardly on how to help the swelling decrease in size. 

Of course, Mark Kerr endured plenty of injuries himself as an MMA champion, so it's understandable Johnson would go through similar trials and tribulations to portray him accurately. This kind of project is seemingly what Johnson has been wanting to do for a while now, as he previously told Variety, "I'm at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I've not pushed myself in the past. I'm at a point in my career where I want to make films that matter, that explore a humanity and explore struggle [and] pain."

A24 already saw great success with its previous intense sports drama, "The Iron Claw." This Mark Kerr movie could very much follow in that same vein, especially if it enters award-season contention. Hopefully, Dwayne Johnson will have a speedy recovery from his injury, and "The Smashing Machine" will receive a release date soon.