The Road House remake is in the works at MGM may have just found its lead star. Deadline reports that Jake Gyllenhaal is in talks to star in a new take on the classic 80s movie with Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Chaos Walking) also potentially on board to direct. Per the report, studio execs are meeting with writers to get a new screenplay developed with the Road House reboot seen as a high priority.
At this time, it’s unclear if this new take on Road House is intended to be a fresh remake of the source material or if it will be somehow connected. As such, it’s also unknown if Jake Gyllenhaal would be playing a new incarnation of Dalton, Patrick Swayze’s character in the original movie, or if he’d be someone new entirely but set in the same universe. Neither MGM nor Gyllenhaal have yet commented on the news.
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Directed by Rowdy Herrington and written by David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin, Road House was released in 1989. It starred Patrick Swayze as Dalton, a bouncer at a roadside bar who’s tasked with protecting the town from a corrupt businessman. It is widely considered to be among Swayze’s best movies and is still widely celebrated today with a large cult following. Ben Gazzara, Kelly Lynch, and Sam Elliott also starred.
Because of the success of the movie along with its enduring following, MGM put out a sequel,Road House 2: Last Call, in 2006. It was directed by Scott Ziehl and released directly to DVD, and while it’s fun for what it is, it obviously did not reach the heights of that original movie. It stars Johnathon Schaech as the son of Swayze’s character following in his father’s footsteps by protecting a Lousiana bar from criminals.
There have been plans at the studio for years to roll the dice again with Road House by developing a remake. Several years back, former UFC champion Ronda Rousey was lined up to star in a new Road House movie with Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog) set to write and direct. This version of the project was ultimately shelved before production could move forward, putting MGM back at the drawing board, but there’s apparently potential seen in bringing Jake Gyllenhaal.
If this project ends up happening, it could take a while before the cameras start rolling. Gyllenhaal is about to team up with Guy Ritchie to start shooting The Interpreter while Doug Liman is prepping production on Everest. We last saw Gyllenhaal in the acclaimed Netflix thriller The Guilty, which just premiered last month. Footage was recently released of the actor also starring in Michael Bay’s upcoming thriller Ambulance.
Because a Road House remake has already crumbled before it could be made, that just might happen here as well, and an official release date hasn’t been set for this new take. Perhaps that could depend on getting the right people on the project and making sure they’ll have enough time in their busy schedules to make it so, at least that would be the case with Gyllenhaal. This news comes to us from Deadline.
