Dwayne Johnson Named Disney Legend at D23 — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Dwayne Johnson received the Disney Legends Award at D23 on Sunday, joining a 39-year-old program that now numbers 329 inductees total
- Johnson turned his acceptance speech into a tearful tribute to fatherhood, recounting taking eldest daughter Simone (then five) to a Disneyland princess breakfast where he watched her close her eyes to make a wish
- Shortly after the ceremony, Johnson led the full D23 arena in a sing-along of 'Happy Birthday' for Simone, whose 25th birthday fell just days before the event, and also shouted out younger daughters Jasmine and Tiana watching from home
- Emily Blunt, Johnson's 'Jungle Cruise' and 'The Smashing Machine' co-star who presented the award, called him 'a non-conforming, rule-breaking, mold-breaking rebel' and said she was 'disarmed' to find him 'gentle, curious, totally unpretentious' rather than the walking-suplex energy of his Rock persona
- Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions signed a first-look film deal with Disney in 2024, after a 20th Television first-look TV deal the prior year — locking him into the studio's theatrical and streaming pipeline
- The 2026 Disney Legends class also includes former CEO Bob Iger, Anne Hathaway, the Jonas Brothers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Susan Egan, Alan Tudyk and Eric Goldberg, per Disney
Why it matters: Johnson now holds active first-look film (Seven Bucks, 2024) and TV (20th Television) deals with Disney, giving him continued creative leverage over the studio's slate at a moment when his live-action Moana — a film he said he made because 'that guy didn't look like me' growing up — is actively carrying Disney's summer box office and its Pacific Islander representation push.
Ask SkimNews
