Jake Gyllenhaal seems to be on a little remake right now. His last two films – that of Antoine Fuqua The guilty and Michael Bay Ambulance — are both English-language versions of foreign films, and now the actor is about to tackle the revamp of a beloved Patrick Swayze film. Amazon Prime Video and MGM are currently developing a new version of the 1989 film Relayand not only is Gyllenhaal attached to play the lead role, but Doug Liman has come on board to direct.
Liman recently performed the COVID heist feature Locked and the Tom Holland/Daisy Ridley sci-fi thriller chaotic walkbut he’s probably best known for his recent collaborations with Tom Cruise – doing the time-looping thriller Edge Of Tomorrow with the Top Gun: Maverick star in 2014, and reunites with him in 2017 for the true-story thriller American made. In addition to working with those mentioned, the filmmaker has worked with many other movie stars – including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon – but Relay will be his first collaboration with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Directed by Rowdy Herrington, the original Relay tells the story of James Dalton (Patrick Swayze), a bouncer who moves from New York to small town Missouri to take on the job of security chief at a rowdy bar called the Double Deuce. In addition to Swayze, the film stars Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Kevin Tighe, and Ben Gazzara.
This isn’t the first time MGM has attempted to develop a remake of the 1989 film, having hired controversial filmmaker Rob Cohen to direct a version a decade ago, and planning a different version starring Ronda Rousey in 2015. Considering this version of the project is set to go into production in the Dominican Republic this month, it seems fair to say that the combination of Jake Gyllenhaal and Doug Liman, not to mention partnering with Amazon, was key to finally getting the project in production.
As for Jake Gyllenhaal’s upcoming films, the actor has finished work on Guy Ritchie’s upcoming thriller The interpreterand he gives a voice in Walt Disney’s next animated film strange worldwhich hits theaters on November 23. In addition to Relayhe is also attached to a number of other projects, including the post-pandemic action film The division (with Jessica Chastain) and the comic book movie Prophet (from Extraction director Sam Hargrave).
If you have never seen Relay and you want to check it before the new version, you have several digital options. If you have an AMC+ subscription, you can check it through Amazon (opens in a new tab) or The Roku Channel (opens in a new tab)and it is also available through Philo (opens in a new tab). You can also rent and/or buy the film via Google Play (opens in a new tab)Apple (opens in a new tab)and Vudu (opens in a new tab).