A few years ago, Alcon Entertainment announced the 90s action movie remake that you never even knew you wanted! Possibly because no one really did want it. Nonetheless, Kathryn Bigelow’s surfer crime thriller Point Break is getting a modern update set in the world of extreme sports, directed by Ericson Core (Invincible) from a script by Kurt Wimmer (Total Recall).
The original movie starred Patrick Swayze as Bodhi, a philosophizing surfer who organizes his surfer buddies into a talented bank robbing crew. Keanu Reeves played Johnny Utah, an FBI agent who investigates the crimes by going undercover in the surfing scene, but ends up being drawn in by Bodhi’s charismatic nature.
Development on the Point Break remake has picked up momentum over the last year or so, with a director and script in place and the two main roles cast. Newcomer Luke Bracey (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) will play Johnny Utah, and Gerard Butler was set to play Bodhi. According to a new report by THR, however, Butler has now dropped out of the movie due to a “confluence of factors,” including creative differences and schedule conflicts.
Point Break is set to begin filming in June, but no U.S. release date has yet been determined. Given how crowded the 2015 release is already, with major sequels like Star Wars: Episode VII, The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Fast and Furious 7, Warner Bros. may well decide to hold off on releasing Point Break until 2016.
The schedule conflict most likely refers to Olympus Has Fallen sequel London Has Fallen, which will begin filming on location this fall. Even if Point Break was completed before the start of filming on London Has Fallen, Butler’s availability for reshoots and ADR would be limited and shooting two movies immediately back-to-back is a pretty exhausting commitment. It’s unclear exactly how large a part creative differences had in Butler’s decision to drop out, but the usual remake backlash has been even more pronounced due to the fact that Swayze passed away less than five years ago.
Alcon Entertainment is no doubt already searching for an actor to replace Butler, and since Bracey is virtually unknown right now, Bodhi will ideally need to be played by someone with a bit of star power. Tell us in the comments if you know the perfect actor to take up the mantle from Swayze – or if you think Point Break should just be left alone.
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We’ll keep you updated on Point Break as development continues.
