Paramount’s sun-kissed reboot of the ’90s drama Baywatch is in the throes of production, with Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron taking over the lead roles from the TV cast to steer this blockbuster onto the big screen. There’s been early talk that one of the original cast may return for a cameo, but if there’s one thing that makes Baywatch, well, Baywatch it’s The Hoff. And thanks to a video posted to Dwayne Johnson’s social media, we now know that David Hasselhoff will return for the reboot.
Posted by Dwayne The Rock Johnson on Wednesday, 2 March 2016
“I WAS BORN READY!” reads Johnson’s caption. “Pleasure to officially welcome the original #BAYWATCH gangsta himself David Hasselhoff to our movie! #BAYWATCH is the most successful TV show of all time and from the day we announced we were turning it into a movie, ‘The Hoff; has been our greatest supporter. Especially once he knew our RATED R movie was going to be a combination of AVENGERS meets ANCHORMAN….Hoff’s a cool dude who’s down to have fun and here’s the best part.. He’s been training his ass off and gotten in the best shape he’s been in in years!”
Hasselhoff played the role of L.A. County lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the original show, but it’s not clear if he’s reprising that same part for the movie or simply appearing in a cameo. Either way, he’ll be sharing screen time with Johnson, Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Priyanka Chopra, Kelly Rohrbach and Hannibal Buress, for a story that revolves around an environmental disaster.
Seth Gordon directs Baywatch from a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, with a release date set for May 19, 2017.