A Road House Remake is On the Way

Movies

If you didn’t get enough remake news today, he’s another upcoming inferior update to make you shake your head. Deadline exclusively reports that Road House is getting remade at MGM. A guy movie classic (which doesn’t bode well for the new and improved version), Road House featured Patrick Swayze as Dalton, a philosophizing bouncer (“Pain don’t hurt”) who accepts a job to clean up the Double Deuce, the rowdiest honky-tonk this side of Torchy’s, and ends up fighting to save the town from a gangster. Doug Liman is in talks to direct the remake, with Jake Gyllenhaal circling a role. It isn’t clear if Gyllenhaal will be playing Dalton, but I’d say it’s a safe bet. A few years ago, there was talk of a different Road House remake with Rhonda Rousey in the lead, but that fell apart, presumably after the fourth or fifth gender-swap dud. There’s no timeline for the current project, but Deadline says MGM considers it a priority. Liman is currently in pre-production on Everest, a sequel to his excellent sci-fi film Edge of Tomorrow, and that Tom Cruise/Elon Musk space movie, while Gyllenhaal has about half a dozen things listed as “in pre-production.”

I know Hollywood is remake-happy at the moment, but given their zeal to filter everything through a modern lens, some movies are better left alone – Road House being one of them. This is a popular movie with a big following, and I doubt any of its fans want to see a version devoid of the sex and toxic masculinity that made the first one so much fun. I’m also dreading the preening when they talk about how revolutionary the Road House remake will be in making Elizabeth a doctor while forgetting she was a doctor in the original too. It’s a shame because I like Doug Liman; he knows how to shoot action and fights, which you can see by comparing the throwdowns in The Bourne Identity with those in Paul Greengrass’ epileptic sequels. I like Jake Gyllenhaal, too, although I don’t see him as Dalton. Maybe he’ll be the new Brad Wesley, hamming it up in a fun villain role. Or they’ll go really young with Dalton, and Gyllenhaal will play Wade Garrett, Dalton’s mentor in bouncing. None of this sounds appealing in the least, and hopefully, this one will go the way of the Rhonda Rousey vehicle that never made it past the suggestion stage.

Are you excited for a Road House remake? Is Jake Gyllenhaal your ideal Dalton? Will a new Tango & Cash with Ryan Gosling and Miles Teller be next on the docket? Let us know in the comments and stick around Geeks + Gamers for more inevitable remake news!