Trailer Released For Paramount’s ‘Baywatch’ Film, Starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Lots Of Bikinis
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The official trailer for the 2017 Paramount Pictures film reboot of the classic television franchise Baywatch has been released, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Zac Efron.
Make no mistake, however, that this R-Rated retread of the classic Baywatch program that once starred David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson is nothing like the legendary show that ran from 1991 until 2002.
The trailer, which has been reposted by Entertainment Weekly, carries with it an edgy kick that makes it nothing like the original program, courtesy of the Baywatch’s new stars Johnson and Efron (and a few well-placed bikini shots).
The new Baywatch action-comedy film is set to be released in May of 2017 and was directed by Seth Gordon (Identity Thief, Horrible Bosses). Aside from Dwayne and Zac, the movie will also feature Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, Priyanka Chopra, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
The Baywatch reboot will also feature its two original and biggest stars, Hasselhoff and Anderson.
The trailer reveals that Dwayne Johnson will portray lead veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchanon in the role that was made famous by Germany’s favorite son David Hasselhoff, albeit with somewhat modernized, R-rated language that many fans of Johnson have come to expect.
In one scene, Dwayne is overheard asking his co-star Zac Efron’s character Matt Brody, “Why the f**k do your balls sound like a three-year-old girl’s?”
Certainly, this means the film will be less popular among the parents of young children than the family fun entertainment that was the Hasselhoff-starred, made-for-television version.
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For his part, per EW’s Christian Holub, Efron’s character, Matt Brody, is a “gold medal-winning swimmer who seems not entirely unlike [controversial U.S. Olympic swimmer] Ryan Lochte.”
At first, Brody will have a contentious relationship with Dwayne’s character, prior to the two finding a way to work together to take on bad-girl Victoria Leeds (Chopra) and her criminal conspiracy to harm the bay.
Pamela Anderson’s well-known C.J. Parker persona — replete with the slow-motion running scenes that once made Anderson one of the top-requested names in Hollywood — will meanwhile be played by Kelly Rohrbach.
Meanwhile, Forbes’ Scott Mendelson had a slightly different take on the new Baywatch trailer, starring Dwayne Johnson.
Mendelson noted today, “You can argue that the Baywatch name has a certain pull here and abroad, part of the sell will be merely the fact that it’s an R-rated beach comedy with that cast.”
Citing sequels such as xXx: The Return of Xander Cage and Jumanji, the Forbes writer argues that movie sequels and reboots have a limited appeal for moviegoers.
“For what it’s worth,” continued Mendelson, “if [Baywatch, xXx, and Jumanji] end up being relatively solid hits, it will be despite the brand / [intellectual property] and not because of it.”
Regardless of the success that Baywatch achieves in the box office, however, Mendelson’s argument will likely do very little to dissuade future filmmakers from going the reboot route rather than generating entirely original content.
According to Mendelson, “The reason Baywatch… [is] worth paying attention to is because [it looks] “attractive” enough in terms of cast and content…. The known franchise elements may well be a bonus rather than the main attraction…. If you’re going to do a brand adaptation / reboot / revival, you’ll have a much better shot of success if you create a package that doesn’t much rely on the IP as a prime draw.”
Despite movie fanatics’ actual motives for hitting theaters for the new Baywatch film, however, many expect that they will come out in droves.
Director Seth Gordon’s unique R-rated spin on the Baywatch TV series is set to hit U.S. theaters just in time for real-life summer, coming to the big screen over Memorial Day Weekend: May 26, 2017.
Yes, they will be there for us next summer.
[Featured Image by Phil Mislinski/Getty Images]
