While Conor McGregor has been out of the action since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight, before marking his return to the arena, McGregor is set to make his Hollywood debut. With renowned director Doug Liman behind the wheels of Road House, which is slated for a release in March this year, the film will kickstart a new chapter in the former UFC champion’s career.
Starring opposite Southpaw Star Jake Gyllenhaal, who is set to play John Dalton, originally played by Patrick Swayze in the 1989 classic, the 2024 remake will star McGregor as Dalton’s physical rival.
Conor McGregor Is Bringing in the Physical Challenge for Jake Gyllenhaal as Knox
While Billy Magnussen is playing the primary antagonist, Conor McGregor will be bringing in the physical challenge to Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Dalton. Set to play Knox, who works for Magnussen’s character in the action thriller, McGregor will be doing what he does best by taking on Dalton, who, in the film, is an ex-UFC champion himself.
Although It’s not new for major sports icons to delve into Hollywood, only a few of them have enjoyed success, with Dwayne Johnson and Terry Crews being some major examples. But with The Bourne Identity director and Jake Gyllenhaal behind the film, one can be optimistic about McGregor’s first Hollywood release to score high upon its debut.
Road House Director Doug Liman Boycotts the Film’s Straight-to-Streaming Release
Despite claiming Road House to be one of his best works to date, Doug Liman won’t be attending the premiere of the film at the SXSW, following his disagreement with its distributors. While Amazon initially stressed that they were willing to give Road House a cinema release during its acquisition of MGM, this isn’t going to be the case anymore, as Road House will hit Prime Video directly. In a Deadline piece, the acclaimed director stressed that if he isn’t taking a stance against Amazon, “who will? So here we go“.
“When Road House opens the SXSW film festival, I won’t be attending. The movie is fantastic, maybe my best, and I’m sure it will bring the house down and possibly have the audience dancing in their seats during the end credits. But I will not be there. My plan had been to silently protest Amazon’s decision to stream a movie so clearly made for the big screen. But Amazon is hurting way more than just me and my film. If I don’t speak up about Amazon, who will? So here we go.”
Liman is one of the several acclaimed filmmakers who have expressed their revolt against studios’ practice of releasing movies straight to streaming, especially the ones made for the big screen. And while fans will be unable to enjoy Conor McGregor’s debut in Hollywood on the big screens as Liman intended, fans will hope this isn’t the last of McGregor in Hollywood.
Road House will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 21 March 2024.
