It’s been a full two years since Rob Cohen was attached to MGM’s remake of Road House, and the modern take quickly slipped off the radar once the director exited the project. Low and behold, by securing UFC champ Ronda Rousey to lead the film, MGM has fired the cult classic back into the limelight, and now Variety is reporting that Nick Cassavetes has signed on to write and direct.
Throughout his writing career, Cassavetes has moulded a number of strong female characters on the big screen, and it’s believed that this impressive track record is what attracted MGM’s attention in the first place. While John Q and Alpha Dog feature on his résumé, it is writing credits on such films as The Notebook and My Sister’s Keeper that make him a fine candidate to take the reins of Road House.
As for Rousey, she’s primed to lead the charge in a role made famous by the late Patrick Swayze. In Rowdy Herrington’s 1989 original, the actor played a no-nonsense bouncer operating at a small-town pub who, after a run-in with the sleazy and corrupt wheeler dealers populating the village, finds himself with his back to the wall when said crooks dispatch a small army of henchmen to teach him some manners.
Flipping gender expectations on their head, Cassavetes’ modern spin on the cult actioner will usher Rousey into the big leagues, following small appearances in Furious 7 and The Expendables 3. Indeed, we’ll be seeing a lot more of the MMA brawler henceforth, with roles in My Fight/Your Fight, Warner Bros.’ The Athena Project, and Mile 22 all in the pipeline.
Soon after her planned clash with Holly Holm in the ring this November, Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey is expected to assume the role of the famed Missouri bouncer in early 2016 when Road House enters production, with a theatrical release expected later that year.
