According to The Rock’s latest Instagram missive, Ilfenesh Hadera (“Billions,” Chi-raq, “Show Me a Hero”) will play Dwayne Johnson‘s love interest in the upcoming Baywatch movie. She joins a cast that also includes Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario and Kelly Rohrbach. Priyanka Chopra (“Quantico”) was also previously reported to be in talks for a role.
As a television series, “Baywatch” premiered on NBC in 1989 with a cast that included David Hasselhoff, Parker Stevenson, Shawn Weatherly, Billy Warlock, Erika Eleniak, Peter Phelps, Brandon Call and Holly Gagnier. The series was initially not a success and was cancelled after a single season. Plans were made, however, to move “Baywatch” into first run syndication and, in 1991, “Baywatch” returned to the airwaves where it continued for a full decade, bringing in new cast members like Yasmine Bleeth and Pamela Anderson. The show also received a short-lived spinoff, “Baywatch Hawaii.”
“This is my beach bitch!” Johnson wrote when he first announced his connection to the film in 2013. “Rumors are true… we’re making #BAYWATCH the movie. Edgy, raunchy and hopefully, funny as all hell. Cue slo mo running on the beach… #WhoNeedsMouthToMouth #RedShortsBeHugginABrotha”
Although several writers have been attached to the Baywatch movie, the most recent draft hails from the Friday the 13th pair of Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. Earlier reports suggested that the film will offer a comedy-heavy take that has little to do with the original series. Parts were reportedly written, however, for both Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff to reprise their roles. Whether or not that remains the plan is, at the moment, unconfirmed.
Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief director Seth Gordon is helming the new film, which is being produced by Dwayne Jonson alongside Michael Berk, Greg Bonann, Beau Flynn, Dany Garcia, Ivan Reitman and Douglas Schwartz.
