Zac Efron joins Dwayne Johnson in the Seth Gordon directed Baywatch movie

Looks like the upcoming BAYWATCH movie is aiming to challenge MAGIC MIKE XXL for the most abs in a single studio film as Zac Efron joins Dwayne Johnson in the action-comedy from HORRIBLE BOSSES director Seth Gordon. BAYWATCH, which is being billed as in the vein of the 21 JUMP STREET films, has been in development for years with multiple actors added and leaving the project. With Dwayne Johnson's franchise Viagra added to the marquee, BAYWATCH is finally gaining some momentum.

Here's the synopsis for BAYWATCH which was scripted by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. There is no word on whether new revisions will be made to the screenplay.

The story centers on a by-the-book and very serious lifeguard (Johnson) who is forced to team up with a young rule-flouting hothead (Efron) in order to save their beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon.

Zac Efron has done quite a bit to separate himself from being typecast as the guy from the HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL movies. He did his fair share of teen films and Nicholas Sparks-style romantic dramas before moving into indie fare like THE PAPERBOY and the upcoming WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS. Efron showed some great comedic timing opposite Seth Rogen in NEIGHBORS and will return for the sequel next year. He also was pretty good in the comedy THAT AWKWARD MOMENT. Both Efron and Johnson are just the right balance of drama and comedy that BAYWATCH may actually be worth watching.

BAYWATCH is set to be released in 2017.