Jake Gyllenhaal will portray James Dalton in the upcoming reimagining of the 1980s cult classic film Road House. The original 1989 film starred Patrick Swayze, who Gyllenhall worked with on the 2001 film Donnie Darko. While appearing with Gabrielle Union on Good Morning America to discuss their new film Strange World, Gyllenhaal spoke fondly of the late Swayze:
Swayze portrayed James Dalton in the original Road House. Hired as a bouncer at a Missouri bar, Dalton soon runs into trouble with Brad Wesley, a corrupt businessman. The film was directed by Rowdy Herrington and also starred Sam Elliott, Kelly Lynch and Ben Gazzara. Swayze died on September 14, 2009, following a battle with cancer.
“They’re big shoes to fill, but Patrick was a friend when he was here.” He added: “He was always so loving and lovely to me. I take that all to heart in playing the role and there are some things I take from him, but generally we made a whole new movie and I’m really excited about it.”
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The Gyllenhaal led version of the film will be released next year. The Academy Award winner portrays James Dalton this time around, but the storyline differs some: Dalton is now a former UFC fighter working as a bouncer in the Florida Keys, who discovers that not everything is what it seems in this tropical paradise.
The film’s lead cast includes Billy Magnussen, Daniela Melchior, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Lukas Gage, Hannah Love Lanier, Travis Van Winkle, B.K. Cannon, Arturo Castro, Dominique Columbus, Beau Knapp, and Bob Menery. UFC champion Connor McGregor will also appear, making his acting debut.
Road House is directed Doug Liman and is written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry. Joel Silver, who served as producer in the original, returns to serve under the same capacity under his Silver Pictures banner. JJ Hook, Alison Winter, and Aaron Auch serve as executive producers.
Jake Gyllenhaal in Strange World
Disney
In Disney’s Strange World, out Wednesday, Gyllenhaal makes his animated feature film debut. Strange World follows the Clades, a family of explorers “whose differences threaten to topple their latest — and by far — most crucial mission.”
The all star cast includes Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade, a farmer who finds himself thrust into an adventure in a strange world; Dennis Quaid as Searcher Clade’s father Jaeger Clade; Jaboukie Young-White as Ethan Clade, Searcher’s 16-year-old son; and Union as Meridian Clade, a pilot, mom to Ethan, and wife of Searcher. Lucy Liu also appears as Callisto Mal, the head of the land of Avalonia.
The film is directed by Academy Award winner Don Hall (Big Hero 6). Hall previously said the film is a tribute to the pulp magazines that were popular in the early 1900s.
