Conor McGregor Is Starring Alongside Jake Gyllenhaal In A New ROAD HOUSE "Reimagining" For Amazon Prime Video
DEADLINE - In what would mark his first acting job in a major studio movie, two-time UFC champion Conor McGregor is set to join Jake Gyllenhaal in Prime Video’s new reimagining of the classic 80s action pic Road House. He joins a cast that already includes Billy Magnussen, Daniela Melchior, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Lukas Gage, Hannah Love Lanier, Travis Van Winkle, B.K. Cannon, Arturo Castro, Dominique Columbus, Beau Knapp and Bob Menery to join the cast. Doug Liman is directing from a script written by Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry. Joel Silver is producing for his company, Silver Pictures. JJ Hook, Alison Winter, and Aaron Auch will serve as executive producers.
Hollywood has been trying for some time to get in business with the UFC superstar but he didn’t want to just jump into anything and wanted the project he made his debut in to be the right fit. Insiders say when he got wind there was interest for him to join Road House, he actually watched the film for the first time and after enjoying the original, was game to meet to see how he would play a part in this film. Sources go on to say that after a meeting with Silver, he was all in and loved the idea where this new story was headed compared to the original.
Hell yeah champ! Get that Amazon Prime Video bag champ!
Listen - I know some people (the haters, of which there are many) are going to look at this and say it's just one thing putting Conor McGregor closer to retirement, being fully out on fighting/title contention, whatever. Blah blah blah. Loser talk.
Conor McGregor, by all accounts, isn't fighting until the first quarter of 2023, and 'ROAD HOUSE' goes into production in the Dominican Republic this month! I'm sure he isn't gonna have a Leonardo DiCaprio-esque filming schedule with this being his acting debut and all, they'll probably bring him in for a fight scene and then get him back onto his yacht in no time!
He's probably been training even harder than he had been to get in filming shape for this movie, as a matter of fact! He looks great!
Now let's address the elephant in the room: the original 'ROAD HOUSE' with Patrick Swayze is a classic 80's flick that doesn't necessarily need to be remade in a lot of people's eyes….
As a 24 year old kid, I don't really have any sentimental connection to that movie, so it doesn't strike a chord with me, but if it sets your mind at ease - this is being described as a "reimagining" rather than a straight "remake"….
The new take follows a former UFC fighter (Gyllenhaal) who takes a job as a bouncer at a rough-and-tumble roadhouse in the Florida Keys, but soon discovers that not everything is what it seems in this tropical paradise. While exact details behind who McGregor will be playing are unknown, sources made it clear he would be playing an original character and not himself in the project.
….and there's also a pretty damn good team behind it! Jake Gyllenhaal rarely misses these days (check out 'Ambulance', pretty good Michael Bay movie from this year), the rest of the cast is pretty great as well, and Doug Liman is the director, who you may know from his work on 'The Bourne Identity', 'Edge of Tomorrow', 'Swingers', 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith', and the very underrated Hayden Christensen classic, 'Jumper'.
I don't know guys - I'm pretty hopeful for this! Even bad fighting movies are good sometimes, you know? Gyllenhaal's boxing movie 'Southpaw' wasn't the best piece of cinema I've ever seen but god dammit if I don't watch it every time I catch it on television so I can see him (spoilers) whoop that guy who killed Rachel McAdams!
As long as they don't disgrace Swayze I think they're good, and I don't think Gyllenhaal would disgrace Swayze.