UFC champion Conor Mcgregor is set to hit Hollywood.
The Notorious will star in an Amazon remake of ‘80s classic Road House alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, who will be attempting to fill the rather large boots of Patrick Swayze as a near-mythological bouncer.
The movie will follow the journey of Dalton, a former UFC fighter who takes a job on the doors at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys and “soon discovers that not everything is what it seems in this tropical paradise,” according to the press release.
McGregor’s role has not been revealed yet, but he’s not expected to play an original character – although his usual crazy persona would be in keeping with this all-action classic.
The cast also includes Billy Magnussen, Daniela Melchior, Gbemisola Ikumelo and Lukas Gage. The original movie came out in 1989 and was directed by Rowdy Herrington.
For McGregor, acting will be the latest edition of his ever-growing brand. After becoming the first-ever double champion in UFC history when he defeated Eddie Alvarez in November of 2016, the proud Irishman has since created and sold his signature Proper No. Twelve Whiskey and fought boxing’s Floyd Mayweather in a seminal super-fight.
However, this latest venture doesn’t mean he has retired from the fight game. Far from it. This has instead been billed as a side project for McGregor, who is continuing along his road back from a broken leg sustained last summer in a fight against Dustin Poirier.
“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,” said McGregor’s spokesperson, Karen J. Kessler. “While fighting remains his top focus, this is the beginning of another successful venture in the McGregor empire.”
Production for Road House is set to begin in the Dominican Republic later this month.
