It looks like MGM has finally found the right person to be nice until it’s time to not be nice. Variety reports UFC star and least embarrassing part of the Entourage movie Ronda Rousey has signed on to star in a remake of Road House. If you’re wondering if this means we’ll finally get a chance to see Rousey rip out a dude’s throat with her bare hands, the answer is, we damn well better.
The classic 1989 film (classic for a number of reasons, at least four of which involve Patrick Swayze’s high-waisted jeans) features Swayze as a philosophy-degree-wielding bouncer sent in to clean up a beyond-rowdy bar called The Double Deuce. Soon, however, he has protect more than that from Ben Gazzara’s corrupt businessman, whom—lest we forget—is fond of reminding people that he doesn’t like messy bleeders. Now that Rousey is taking over from Swayze, there may have to be a search for some equally charming outfit for her to wear while getting in fights. Perhaps a romper?
Rousey, ever the considerate ass-kicker, reached out to Swayze’s widow, Lisa Niemi, to get her blessing before taking the role. Following that, Rousey presumably trained for the role by practicing awkward lovemaking tactics and asking Sam Elliott to appear on her doorstep at inexplicable moments. Given that the studio is still interviewing writers for the gig, production isn’t scheduled to start until 2016. That’s probably for the best, considering Rousey’s busy schedule of playing Ronda Rousey in upcoming films. She’s also co-starring with The Raid’s Iko Uwais in Peter Berg’s next actioner Mile 22, so it’s entirely possible that by the time cameras are rolling on this Road House reboot, pain actually won’t hurt, because she’ll already have experienced all possible forms of it.