Seemingly tired of pulling the “buffer face” for EE, Footloose star Kevin Bacon has signed on to topline Greg McLean’s Jungle — an upcoming survival tale set in the unforgiving Amazon rainforest circa 1981.
That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, who state that the 56-year old star will indeed reunite with the director, following the pair’s work on the soon-to-be-released horror thriller, 6 Miranda Drive.
Taking inspiration from the real-life account of adventure-seeker Yossi Ghinsberg, Jungle will follow Bacon’s protagonist who finds himself lost in more tropical regions of Bolivia. With only himself for company, the film will chart his extraordinary story as he fights for survival in the Amazon rainforest for a full three weeks.
Given that Jungle is, by the sounds of things, a concentrated and contained picture, it’ll be interesting to see how Bacon performs on his lonesome. There’s no doubting the actor’s range following his acclaimed work as Ryan Hardy on The Following — a role that has bagged him a couple of awards, no less — so with the right material, Bacon may well have found himself the perfect role. Speaking of which, we understand that Jungle will be scripted by Justin Monjo, while Gary Hamilton, Dana Lustig, Mike Gabrawy and Mark Lazarus are on board as producers.
It’s unclear when Jungle will enter production, but with Kevin Bacon now secured, it should only be a matter of time before things begin to fall into place on McLean’s survival film. Bacon will be seen next alongside Johnny Deep and Benedict Cumberbatch for Warner Bros.’ upcoming mob drama, Black Mass.
