It has been announced that UFC star Conor McGregor is to team up with actor Jake Gyllenhaal in the remake of the 1989 cult classic ‘Road House’.
The original ‘Road House’ featured Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch and Sam Elliott.
Apparently the remake with feature Gyllenhaal playing the roll of a former UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a rough-and-tumble roadhouse in the Florida Keys. The remake is said to be shooting in the Dominican Republic and once completed will be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 for ‘Brokeback Mountain.’ The actor has been featured in several films some of which include ‘Love and Other Drugs’, ‘Nightcrawler’, ‘Demolition’, and ‘Southpaw’.
Conor McGregor’s spokeswoman, Karen Kessler, released a statement to ‘MMA Junkie‘ confirming that the Irishman would be in the remake of the movie ‘Road House’.
“Conor McGregor is very excited to expand his storied career to Hollywood and join with Jake Gyllenhaal in this reimagining of ‘Road House,’ a beloved classic. While fighting remains his top focus, this is the beginning of another successful venture in the McGregor empire. He is eager to get started filming.”
This will be Conor McGregor’s acting debut on the big screen.
According to ‘Deadline’, McGregor will not be starring as himself (a UFC fighter) in the movie directed by Doug Liman. Liman has previously directed movies which include ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’, ‘The Bourne Identity’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’.
It should be noted that Ronda Rousey, previously UFC’s bantamweight champion and a professional wrestler, was going to play a female version of Patrick Swayze’s character in the remake. Rousey had already branched out into acting in films such as ‘Furious 7’, ‘The Expendables 3,’ and ‘Entourage’. But according to ‘IMDb’, Rousey is no longer in the cast of characters.
The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, ‘Notorious’, (22-6 MMA), last fought in July of 2021 at UFC 264 where he went down to defeat against Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA).
McGregor suffered a broken left fibula and tibia during his fight with Poirier and has been recovering, rehabilitating and training ever since. McGregor, 34, is scheduled to return to the Octagon late this year or in early 2023.
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