Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Was the Academy’s First Choice to Host the Oscars But Couldn’t Due to ‘Jumanji 2’

Well, that would have been a great show! Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a hot commodity at the moment, and, apparently, he’s so beloved by all in Hollywood that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wanted him to host the 2019 Oscars but unfortunately, the actor’s work schedule got in the way of things.

The 48-year-old took to Twitter on Wednesday, February 6 to respond to a fan who suggested that the Academy simply choose the former WWE wrestler to host the ceremony. “Ah mahalo dude, I was their first choice to host this year, and my goal was to make it the most fun and entertaining Oscars ever,” the Hobbs and Shaw star explained. “We all tried hard, but couldn’t make it work since I’m shooting Jumanji [2]. Academy and I were super bummed but maybe one day down the road.”

The upcoming Jumanji sequel, which is being filmed in Atlanta, comes after the huge 2017 hit, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The film will see Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Kevin Hart return, the latter of whom recently stepped down from hosting the Oscars after offensive past tweets were discovered on his social media. Once that occurred, the Academy was forced to rush out and look for another celebrity to take over, to no avail. All of these circumstances have led to the awards show going without a host for the first time in 30 years.

On January 9, sources told Variety the plan that the Academy has now. “Producers will select a crop of A-listers to introduce various segments instead of relying on one marquee name to kick things off in a monologue filled with Trump zingers,” they said. “The producers and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group behind the Oscars, are scrambling to line up top talent needed to carry the telecast.” The insiders added, “Hand-wringing at the Academy has been palpable.”

And some of those stars have already been announced, as famous faces like Daniel Craig, Charlize Theron and Chris Evans will be at the show. But one thing is certain, we won’t be seeing Dwayne’s classic eyebrow raise when the fun airs on February 24.