Today in We Did Not See That Coming news: Dwayne Johnson is, according to the Hollywood Reporter, now loosely attached to Paramount’s long-gestating film version of Baywatch. In the same news blast comes word that Horrible Bosses 2 duo Sean Anders and John Morris are on board to direct and produce{
Paramount has been trying to crack this nut for years now, adapting the cult 1990s show that gave David Hasselhoff a second jolt of career juice and made the idea of good-looking people in tight-fitting swimsuits running along California beaches a popular weekly TV concept.
Jeremy Garelick and Peter Tolan have worked on script drafts as the film floundered away in development, and Robert Ben Garant was touted as a director in 2012. Things have moved on, and now Paramount has Justin Malen taking a new swing at the script and Anders and Morris overseeing the current plan. Their presence alongside Johnson clearly indicates that the Baywatch concept is still being played for comedy as much as it is for action.
So can the man often called “Franchise Viagra” help make this work? That’ll only be a question if he actually commits to star. For now, he has disaster film** San Andreas** and Fast & Furious 7 both headed our way next year, and he’s been working on a new HBO series, Ballers.