Comedian-cum-actor Hannibal Buress has entered final negotiations to join the star-studded cast of Paramount’s Baywatch movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Set to play a local resident of the bay community, Buress is on the verge of joining an ensemble that already boasts Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron as two opposing lifeguards, with the former assuming the role of a veteran and Efron the hotshot newcomer. Upon hitting the beach for Paramount’s R-rated feature, they’ll be flanked by a crew that includes Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario (Summer) and Kelly Rohrbach as C.J. Parker – a role made famous by Pamela Anderson in the original 1990s series.
But if Baywatch defined itself on larger-than-life characters and a camp sense of humor, director Seth Gordon is set to come in guns blazing to lend the dormant IP a new lease of life. With an R rating already secured and a May 2017 release window in place, Paramount has certainly got its ducks in a row for this one, and early reports suggest the studio is taking a leaf from Sony’s book (read: Jump Street) in its “badass” treatment of a cult classic.
Working from a script penned by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, Baywatch will pull of its best slow-motion jog all the way in front of the cameras in a fortnight, when Paramount will begin filming the R-rated feature in Atlanta.
On the other hand, Hannibal Buress recently shot a cameo role in James Franco’s biopic The Disaster Artist, and will voice a character in this summer’s upcoming animation, The Secret Life of Pets.