Right now, Dwayne Johnson is entering one of the busiest and most eventful years of his film career. The first title in his impressive, blockbuster-filled lineup of 2017, The Fate of the Furious, is set to hit theaters this Friday with some record-breaking box office projections already in its favor. But that’s not the only time that Johnson will be back on the silver screen this year, and in fact, after Fate of the Furious hits theaters next month, he’s going to be front and center of one of the most ambitious and unexpected film reboots of the year in Paramount’s Baywatch.

He’s not going to be the only one patrolling the beaches of Baywatch, though, instead he’ll be starring alongside an impressive cast of up and comers, including Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Jon Bass, Kelly Rohrbach, Priyanka Chopra, and more. With just a little over a month left to go until the film’s release, Paramount is starting to periodically ramp up the promotion and marketing for Baywatch. But after an already impressive promotional campaign, this latest addition may be the smartest one yet.

Playing up on the hype surrounding the upcoming release of Fate of the Furious, a brand new TV spot for Baywatch has been released, trying to urge viewers to instead go a little “slow and furious” this summer. The fact that Johnson is starring as one of the leads in both films just makes the tongue-in-cheek nature of this promo that much better, especially as it continues to try and win longtime Baywatch fans over to the film’s radically different tone and feel. Check out the TV spot for yourself in the space above.

Even if Baywatch ends up being a critical disappointment when it’s released - -which is always a possibility with these kinds of summer comedies – Paramount deserves some kudos for even finding a way to bring the property back into the mainstream in any way. Losing the melodrama of the original Baywatch brand, the new film promises to be one of the raunchiest and dirtiest comedies released this year, which definitely isn’t what most fans or casual moviegoers were likely expecting.

The decision to go that route creatively may turn out to be the best or worst possible decision Paramount could have made when all is said and done. But even with all of that taken into consideration (and the hit-or-miss quality of the jokes showcased in the trailers so far), the film has stacked the odds in its favor about as much as possible. With an all-star cast and one of the most charismatic movie stars working in Hollywood today leading the group, Baywatch is certain to garner a fair amount of hype for itself over the next few weeks leading up to its release. Now all that’s left to be seen is if the film is actually deserving of it or not.

Next: Baywatch: Dwayne Johnson Kicks Off a Slow Motion Marathon

Source: Paramount

  • Baywatch Release Date: 2017-05-25