Jake Gyllenhaal is officially set to star in “Road House,” a reimagined take on the classic movie starring Patrick Swayze, for Amazon’s Prime Video.
Doug Liman will direct the new movie, from a script written by Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry. After producing the original film for MGM in 1989, Joel Silver is back on board to produce the reimagining for his company Silver Pictures.
Reports that Gyllenhaal and Liman were circling the project broke in November 2021. Prime Video officially announced the production’s impending start on Tuesday.
“’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.”
“I’m thrilled to put my own spin on the beloved ‘Road House’ legacy,” Doug Liman shared in a statement. “And I can’t wait to show audiences what Jake and I are going to do with this iconic role.”
In the 1989 cult classic, Swayze played James Dalton, a zen bouncer hired to clean up a rowdy Missouri bar. Dalton quickly runs up against the corrupt businessman (Ben Gazzara) who controls the small town. The film was a modest box office success — grossing $30 million against a reported $15 million budget — but has since earned the reputation of a cult classic and is among Swayze’s most beloved roles among the late actors’ fans.
“The original ‘Road House’ has a special place in my heart and I am so excited to bring this newly imagined version to audiences around the world,” Silver said. “Doug and I have each made some big, boisterous action movies and are ready to bring everything we have to this one.”
According to the studio, the new take stars Gyllenhaal 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.”
The Amazon Original movie is set to go into production in the Dominican Republic this month with a cast that also includes 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. At release, “Road House” will stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Gyllenhaal is represented by WME and Liman is represented by CAA.
