DWAYNE JOHNSON is teaming up with Disney for a modern-day follow-up to the beloved 'Witch Mountain' movies of the seventies -- and ET is on the set!

"I do remember the originals; they were great," Johnson tells ET. "They captured the imagination, certainly for me, and millions of children worldwide; I thought at that time the special effects were fantastic, the story was great, and, at that time, you had two kids who were literally superheroes to me -- they had these tremendous powers, and this is a big reason why I wanted to sign up [for this movie]."

In 'Race to Witch Mountain,' the former WWE wrestling star (aka "The Rock") plays a cabbie who must help his two young paranormal-powered passengers (ANNASOPHIA ROBB and ALEXANDER LUDWIG) who are on the run.

But before he became a movie star and action hero in his own right, Johnson struggled just to put a roof over his head.

"I was never homeless, but I've had some low points in my life, where 10 years ago I literally had seven bucks in my pocket after I got cut from the Canadian football team, the Calvary St. Peters," explains Johnson. "I'll never forget it; things were pretty tough. We have to create opportunities for ourselves, and we have to realize there's no substitute for hard work."

Now a huge success, Johnson has been known to "hand out a pretty penny once in a while" to the homeless.

"If you're moved to give, then you should give," he shrugs. "There's been some really close family members in my life, at some point, who were homeless -- on the street homeless -- and I'll never forget that. Everybody has a story, so if I'm moved, then sure."

'Race to Witch Mountain' also stars TOM EVERETT SCOTT, CHEECH MARIN, CIARAN HINDS ("Rome") as the bad guy, and IKE EISENMANN and KIM RICHARDS -- the original child performers who starred in 1975's 'Escape to Witch Mountain' and 1978's 'Return from Witch Mountain' -- as a small-town sheriff and a waitress.

The film is scheduled for a March 2009 release.