Created by a writing team comprised of Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, Robert Ben Garant and Justin Malen, the upcoming Baywatch movie is set to reboot the popular television series of the same name with a whole bunch of new characters and unique plot. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Zac Efron lead the cast, while Alexandra Daddario, Hannibal Buress, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, Kelly Rohrbach and Priyanka Chopra all also starring. Original Baywatch icon Pamela Anderson is also set for an unspecified role in the reboot, while David Hasselhoff was spotted on the set in late March.
Ahead of the festive weekend and following on from the official trailer release earlier this month, a brand-new image of Johnson and Efron in the movie has arrived, showing the pair strutting down the beach - with Johnson's (impressive) abs on full display.
Chatting about the image (which you can check out below) and making sure the audience knows those behind the movie are in on the whole Baywatch joke, director Seth Gordon explained to EW:
“When you’re out on beach and open water, there’s nothing you can do to get out of the line of sight [of paparazzi], so we just kind of embraced it.
“The history of the [Baywatch] show is to showcase beauty. There’s a beat where one of the characters sees someone running and asks, ‘Is she running in slo-mo? And why is she wet but not that wet?’ Stuff like that shows that we are in on the joke.”
Allowing the film to embrace its own roots in such a meta fashion could be a hugely enjoyable aspect, with humor essential if Baywatch is to make itself a success at all. Though we’ve got our own ideas about how the flick could become an instant classic, it seems clear that the brains behind it have some smart ideas up their sleeves.
With that being said, there of course has to be a story and integral plot involved if the movie is to be one that gains critical and fan acclaim. There are plenty of funny films out there without much of a storyline, so if Baywatch is hoping to go above and beyond and cement itself in the history of the franchise, it’s going to have to do a great job. Let’s hope that this reboot doesn’t put a dark stain on the series forever.
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Source: EW
