When Gerard Butler came aboard to play the Patrick Swayze role in the upcoming Point Break remake last month, the big question that everybody was asking was, "Who will play the Johnny Utah to Butler's Bodhi?" Rather than going for a big name star to fill Keanu Reeves' shoes, Alcon Entertainment is instead turning to up-and-coming Aussie actor Luke Bracey, who Variety reports is now signed on to the film.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 1991 original, which was directed by The Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow, the story followed a young undercover FBI Agent named Johnny Utah who worked to infiltrate a group of surfers that also happened to be serious criminals. The new film is being directed by Ericson Core (Invincible) and scripted by Kurt Wimmer (the Total Recall remake), and while most of the story elements will remain the same, the remake will be replacing "surfers" with "extreme sports athletes."
According to Variety's report, Bracey beat out a number of other stars when Alcon was testing actors this past Friday. Initially they were looking to bring in a bigger name - the trade notes Garrett Hedlund and Nicholas Hoult as two examples - but instead decided to go with a fresher face. This move does mirror the original to an extent, as Point Break came after Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure but before titles like Speed, Dracula, and My Own Private Idaho.
While Bracey doesn't exactly have a household name here in the states, there's a pretty good chance you saw him in a key role in one of last year's big blockbusters:
That's right - Bracey was the man under the mask playing Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe: Retaliation (replacing Joseph Gordon-Levitt from the first film). The young actor's other previous credits include Monte Carlo, the Selena Gomez vehicle from 2011, and the Australian soap opera Home and Away.
Now that the Point Break remake has found its stars, the next step is to line up a supporting cast and then the project will be all but ready to launch intro production. The way things have progressed, I wouldn't be surprised if production starts up this summer and we see the finished product in theaters some time in 2015.
While we all bemoan the fact that more '90s movies are getting the remake treatment, let's all ignore the wave and watch the trailer for the original:
