True Detective breakout Alexandra Daddario has nabbed the female lead in Paramount’s Baywatch movie, according to Deadline, bringing an end to an extensive casting process that saw multiple actresses considered for the part of Summer.
In fact, only last week, we reported that Paramount had compiled a star-studded shortlist, one which included such talent as Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson, Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse), Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries), Shelley Hennig (Unfriended), Bianca Santos (Ouija) and Denyse Tontz (Big Time Rush).
News of Daddario making a slow-motion jog onto the production of Seth Gordon’s (Horrible Bosses) big-screen reboot means that the actress will reunite with her San Andreas co-star Dwayne Johnson, who toplines the studio’s high-profile overhaul as the best lifeguard in the business. Originally portrayed by Nicole Eggert in the cult TV series, it’s understood that Daddario’s new-fangled role will be instrumental in Paramount’s Baywatch, and there have been murmurings that the studio is on the verge of announcing the actress who will trot along the beach as CJ.
Said to be stylized in a similar vein to Sony’s wonderfully over-the-top, yet brilliantly meta Jump Street series, Baywatch will ditch the camp tone of its source material in favor of an action-packed summer blockbuster. Having already cast Johnson and We Are Your Friends heartthrob Zac Efron as two Californian lifeguards, the addition of Daddario is a major coup for the production, and the actress’ first foray into blockbuster territory since Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.
With an R-rating in tow, Seth Gordon’s Baywatch will begin its trek in front of the cameras in the early stages of 2016, meaning we can readily expect Paramount to fill the remaining roles sooner rather than later.
