UPDATE: Well, the filmmakers must have heard me yesterday when I complained about the supporting cast because now Deadline is reporting that UFC champion Connor McGregor has joined the cast. McGregor certainly adds some tough man cred to the film that was sorely lacking and even though his character is a secret right now, we do know that he will be playing an original one and not himself. My money says that McGregor will most likely play a role similar to Marshall Teague’s Jimmy Reno. It makes sense to have him play the heavy and he certainly will bring authenticity to the fight sequences. Stay tuned for more to come!

(Original Post) Chalk this one up as to why the hell do we need it and aside from Jake Gyllenhaal, who is set to take over Patrick Swayze’s iconic role, the rest of the cast looks like a group of millennials that will do nothing for a remake of Road House. The planned reboot was announced last year and now Variety is reporting that the cast is set and that the film will hit Amazon Prime when all is said and done.

Doug Liman is set to helm the reboot from a script penned by Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry. The one saving grace I guess you can take from this is that the Joel Silver, who produced the original classic, is on board here as well. Maybe with Silver present, the movie won’t fumble the look and feel of the original.

“’Road House’ is a homerun for us. Not only is it a nod to fans of the original, but it is also a big, fun, broad audience movie,” stated Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Joel, Doug, and this great cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal, and for them to come together to reimagine the classic MGM film as an action-packed adventure for our global audience.”

Director Doug Liman also spoke about the film and that he will do it justice with Gyllenhaal. That remains to be seen to say the very least.

“I’m thrilled to put my own spin on the beloved ‘Road House’ legacy,” Doug Liman said in a statement. “And I can’t wait to show audiences what Jake and I are going to do with this iconic role.”

The original Road House dropped in 1989 and it is considered to be one of the late, great Patrick Swayze’s best roles in his career that was cut short due to cancer. Swayze starred as the iconic cooler Dalton who proceeds to clean up the Double Deuce bar when a greedy developer (Ben Gazzara) starts to dismantle the small town that the establishment is in. The eclectic cast included Sam Elliot, Kelly Lynch and Marshall Teague who I got to talk to earlier this year and it holds a special place in my heart so to say that this one better not piss on the memory of the original is an understatement.

According to Variety, Gyllenhaal will star “as a former UFC fighter 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.” Wow, he’s a UFC fighter. How diverse.

The film’s shoot will reportedly begin this Tuesday and Gyllenhaal will star along with Billy Magnussen (“No Time to Die”), Daniela Melchior (“The Suicide Squad”), Gbemisola Ikumelo (“A League of Their Own”), Lukas Gage (“The White Lotus”), Hannah Love Lanier (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”), Travis Van Winkle (“You”), B.K. Cannon (“Why Women Kill”), Arturo Castro (“Broad City”), Dominique Columbus (“Ray Donovan”), Beau Knapp (“Seven Seconds”) and Bob Menery per Variety. Excuse me while I contain my excitement for this cast.

Now I always say I’ll reserve judgment until I see footage and this applies to this project as well. If it is done right with respect to the original and it has that feel of what mage the original such a great film to fans then sure, it could work. Gyllenhaal is a good actor and he could totally sell it. It will certainly be interesting to see how it evolves.

If I seem bitter in this post, it’s because the original movie means so much to me as it was one of many that grew my love of all things action. Swayze had such a presence and swagger that you can’t teach someone and the movie was a perfect example of what made the 80’s great. The reboot can’t fall into how society is today. It needs to say “Fuck it. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.” It needs to stand it’s ground and celebrate these types of movies and not sell them out.

Stay tuned and keep it locked and loaded right here for more to follow as we are your destination for everything action in 2022 and beyond! Maybe I’ll go watch the original to get the bad taste out of my mouth. No offense Jake.

Source: Variety