Dwayne Johnson is bringing one of his most personal producing credits to a new platform. Fighting With My Family, the 2019 wrestling drama that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is being adapted as a stage musical, with Johnson’s production company Seven Bucks Productions among the collaborators on the project. The adaptation is being developed alongside director Stephen Merchant, producer Kevin Misher, Tilted Musicals, and the Birmingham Hippodrome.
The original film told the true story of Saraya Knight, a young woman who grew up in a chaotic and deeply loving British wrestling family before earning her place in WWE under the ring name Paige. Florence Pugh played the lead role, capturing the character’s journey from Norwich to the professional wrestling world in the United States. Johnson appeared in the film as himself alongside his producing role, and Vince Vaughn played the WWE trainer who shapes Paige’s development in America. Johnson and his producing partner Dany Garcia brought the project to life through Seven Bucks Productions, and Johnson has described the experience of making the film as genuinely special.
Dwayne Johnson on why the story suits the stage
Johnson has been vocal about his enthusiasm for the adaptation, describing Fighting With My Family as material that feels naturally suited for live theater. The emotional core of the story, the personal transformation of a young outsider navigating ambition, identity, and distance from home, translates well to the intimacy that a theatrical setting demands. Wrestling itself, with its theatrical personas, live crowds, and storytelling built around heroes and villains, has always had more in common with performance art than most sports, making the genre shift feel less like a stretch and more like a homecoming.
Johnson has also spoken warmly about the value of Merchant’s original work, crediting the director’s vision as something that deserves to continue finding new audiences. The stage musical represents that continuation, bringing the story to people who may never have seen the film and giving those who love it a different way to experience it.
The creative team behind the adaptation
The book and lyrics for the stage production are being written by Jon Brittain, while the score is being composed by Miranda Cooper and Nick Coler, a songwriting duo best known for their work with Xenomania, the production outfit behind hits recorded by Kylie Minogue, the Sugababes, and Girls Aloud. Their approach to the soundtrack is drawing from a distinctly British sonic palette, with early creative sessions referencing Britpop before expanding into drum and bass, electronic music, and other genres that reflect the Knight family’s particular energy and personality.
Cooper has described the musical’s protagonist, the stage version of Saraya, as a complicated and irreverent outsider whose unconventional qualities are ultimately revealed to be her greatest strengths. The team has been in direct contact with the real Saraya as they develop the show, and the response has been enthusiastic. The production is being treated as a standalone theatrical experience rather than a direct extension of the film’s existing audience, meaning the creative team is building something that can stand entirely on its own.
Dwayne Johnson and the road to 2027
Workshop performances are planned for later this year, with the first public performances targeted for 2027. The timing places the production in an interesting cultural moment, particularly in the United Kingdom, where a major streaming platform has recently acquired WWE broadcast rights, returning professional wrestling to British television in a way it has not been present for roughly 25 years.
Merchant, who has been actively supportive throughout the development process, has shared production materials and personal footage from his time with the Knight family to help the stage team capture the authenticity of the world they are building. His framing of the original film as inherently musical, with wrestling matches functioning like dance numbers building toward a finale, suggests the adaptation is less a departure from his vision than a fulfillment of it.
