According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zac Efron is in talks to star in the new feature-length Baywatch comedy film. Dwayne Johnson is already officially set as a star and producer, with Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, The Jim Gaffigan Show) taking the director’s chair. The premise of the film will see Johnson’s character mentor a young and erratic new lifeguard (likely Efron), while they battle an evil oil baron who threatens their beach with environmental destruction. Topical, see.
In the 90’s Baywatch completely changed the image of the lifeguard. What was formerly the summer job that zapped your soul and made you yearn for the return of school soon became effortlessly cool. Efron, likewise, is still in the midst of changing his image. He’s spent the last few years shaking off his High School Musical tween-throb tag. He starred alongside Seth Rogen Neighbors, for which a sequel is in the works; he’s also appearing with Robert De Niro in another comedy, Dirty Grandpa; both are slated for 2016 releases.