January 9, 2014 - 18:34 AMT
Gerard Butler to star in “Point Break” classic surf film adaptation

Gerard Butler is in final negotiations to star in Alcon’s remake of the early 1990s classic surf film Point Break, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The movie is eyeing a summer shoot with Ericson Core, the cinematographer behind 2001’s The Fast & the Furious and Daredevil, in the director’s chair.

Kurt Wimmer wrote the screenplay for the new film, which is set in the international world of extreme sports as opposed to the Southern California surf scene of the original. The plot of an FBI agent infiltrating a crime ring as well as the names of the principal characters remain the same.

Butler will play Bodhi, an expert extreme-sports athlete who seeks nirvana through the conquest of a series of athletic feats such as surfing 100-foot waves. He saves Johnny Utah, the undercover FBI agent, and brings him into the fold of international criminals. The part of Utah is not cast yet.

Patrick Swayze played the part in the 1991 movie directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove are producing along with Michael DeLuca, John Baldecchi, Chris Taylor and Wimmer.

Break is likely to solidify Butler’s dance card for the year. He will first shoot Liongate’s epic fantasy Gods of Egypt, which starts shooting in March, and close out the year with London Is Falling, the sequel to his surprise action hit Olympus Has Fallen.

This won't be the first time Butler has had to wear a wetsuit onscreen; he wore one in his role as real-life surfer Frosty Hesson in 2012's Chasing Mavericks.