Jake Gyllenhaal took the stage at an actual UFC weigh-in this weekend for his Road House remake
Shirtless, flexing, and dropping mother-f-bombs, Gyllenhaal was clearly getting into the UFC vibe
Look, we’ll be honest here: We had managed to completely forget that Jake Gyllenhaal was, very seriously, remaking Road House. It’s just a weird idea, you know? There’s the oddball Patrick Swayze/Donnie Darko connection, the incongruity of Gyllenhaal playing a guy literally known for ripping out people’s throats, the sheer unnecessariness of remaking Road House at all… It was just a little hard to keep front-of-mind.
But no longer! We have now witnessed the raw spectacle of Jake Gyllenhaal bringing philosopher throat-ripper Elwood Dalton to life, and it is for-sure now burnt into our memory. Not in a trailer, not via a poster, but by the most natural venue for Gyllenhaal’s many talents: A UFC weigh-in this weekend, where Gyllenhaal appeared, in-character but out-of-shirt, to film a scene for the movie in front of a crowd of cheering fans.
As noted by MMAJunkie (which also captured copious video of the event), the weigh-in happened on Friday evening in Las Vegas, amidst a bunch of actual weigh-ins for the sport. See, the new version of Dalton isn’t just a mysterious shit-kicker monk; he’s also a former UFC fighter. Hence Gyllenhaal taking the stage and talking trash to opponent (and actual former UFC guy) Jay Hieron, with the two eventually giving each other a long stare-down with some of that “hey, I’m gonna hit you, and not in an officially sanctioned, this-is-legal-for-some-reason sort of way” play-acting that fighters apparently do in these sorts of situations. Also, Gyllenhaal loudly yelled “shit” twice and “motherfucker” once, leaving no doubt that he is both R-rated and powerful.
Road House is being directed by Doug Liman, and co-stars Daniela Melchior and Billy Magnussen. The remake reportedly transplants troubled bar Double Deuce from Missouri to the Florida Keys. The film is being set up at Prime Video.