The One Turns 25: Dwayne Johnson Was Supposed to Star, and His Fight Scenes Were Already Planned Before Jet Li Took Over

For better or worse, The Matrix‘s phenomenal success opened the floodgates for studios and filmmakers to capitalize on the same groundbreaking formula: lots of wire-fu choreography, bullet-time effects, a high-tech sci-fi action premise, and an industrial/nu metal-heavy soundtrack. You could see them in Equilibrium, Ultraviolet, and, of course, The One, which hit theaters 25 years ago on November 2, 2001.

The latter boasts an interesting premise: Gabriel Yulaw (Jet Li), a MultiVerse Authority (MVA) agent who goes rogue by travelling across parallel dimensions to kill the alternate versions of himself. Each kill makes him stronger; after he successfully executes over 120 of them, leaving only Gabe Law (also Li), the LASD deputy sheriff who happens to be the last variant that Gabriel needs to eliminate to become “The One”.

James Wong and Glen Morgan Built The One as a Multiverse Sci-Fi Action Movie From the Final Destination Team

Fresh off the success of Final Destination the year before, James Wong, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Glen Morgan, keeps things moving at a brisk pace. The movie clocks in at only 87 minutes, unbelievably short for such a conceptual movie, where Wong prioritizes fast-paced action over spending more time establishing the sci-fi lore surrounding the multiverse concept.

The reviews weren’t kind back then (13% on Rotten Tomatoes), but it has since become a cult classic after reassessment, particularly the ahead-of-its-time multiverse premise long before the MCU dominated the trend two decades later, and Jet Li’s dual performances, playing both sides of the law. The One also featured Jason Statham (with hair!) in a supporting role as one of the MVA agents hunting down Gabriel Yulaw with his partner and superior officer (Delroy Lindo), in one of his earlier, pre-stardom roles. It wasn’t until he finally reached a career breakthrough as Frank Martin in The Transporter a year later, and the rest, as they say, is history.

RELATED: Why Jet Li Really Disappeared From Hollywood — And Why He’s Finally Coming Back

The One Box Office: How Much Did It Make Against Its $49 Million Budget?

Produced at $49 million, it was one of Revolution Studios’ biggest-budget movies at the time, but despite rising director James Wong and martial arts sensation Jet Li, who already enjoyed a crossover success in Hollywood after making his American debut in Lethal Weapon 4, The One didn’t exactly ignite the box office. Although it opened a better-than-expected $19.1 million at No. 2, with Monsters, Inc. taking the top spot domestically, the movie couldn’t sustain long enough as subsequent weekends went by, with a heavy drop after another, grossing only $43.9 million. The international grosses didn’t help much either, taking in only $28.8 million before accumulating a worldwide total of $72.7 million.

Why Dwayne Johnson Left The One and How Jet Li Landed the Lead

Interestingly, Jet Li wasn’t initially the first choice to lead The One, but rather Dwayne Johnson, who was an up-and-coming action star at the time after appearing in The Mummy Returns. The production team even went as far as fully pre-visualizing his action scenes, and according to visual special effects supervisor Eric Durst during the movie’s behind-the-scenes featurette, Johnson’s fighting style would lean heavily on street-brawl technique rather than Jet Li’s more kinetic yet intricate kung fu movements.

But despite everything, Johnson reportedly chose to drop late in pre-production, opting to star in his solo spin-off in The Scorpion King instead. This, in turn, forced the production to quickly pivot to Jet Li, even offering him a massive paycheck that he couldn’t refuse. Besides, the fact that Li’s first three Hollywood features – Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die, and Kiss of the Dragon – were all box-office hits made him the next best alternative to replace Johnson.

With Li onboard, that means the production had to redesign the fights and even rewrite the script to suit the martial arts actor, especially given his limited English proficiency. This explained why The One was largely streamlined, and the action became the major highlight instead. It helped that they brought in Corey Yuen, the legendary action choreographer who used to work with Jet Li on Hong Kong movies, including the Fong Sai Yuk duology and The Bodyguard from Beijing, to oversee the martial arts sequences. Not surprisingly, the elaborate fight scenes, notably the climactic Jet Li vs. Jet Li showdown, made the otherwise flimsy The One a guilty-pleasure fun.

RELATED: “In Many Ways, I Agree”: Jet Li Admitted Fans Had a Point About Romeo Must Die’s Disappointing Action

The One is streaming free with ads on Tubi and Plex, and also available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video (availability as of November 2026, per JustWatch).