Road House: Jake Gyllenhaal films UFC scenes for the action film remake

Jake Gyllenhaal makes another turn as a professional fighter as he films the backstory scenes of his character in the Road House remake.

This past weekend, while the UFC showcased their latest fight cards at UFC 285, filming of Jake Gyllenhaal’s upcoming remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze film, Road House, piggy-backed onto the event. It’s no new strategy for films that involve professional contact sports to use an actual fight night for the backdrop of production to save on construction and present a level of authenticity. Michael B. Jordan would even film the fighter entrances to Creed III at a bout last year.

Deadline reports that the Road House remake filmed UFC scenes involving Gyllenhaal’s character, Dalton. Gyllenhaal unveiled his new physique for the role as the actor is now in fighting shape. The production filmed a weigh-in scene where Gyllenhaal would showboat for the cameras, presumably both in and out of character. Dalton looks to be fighting a fictional fighter named Harris, who is played by the former UFC fighter Jay Hieron. The two went through the motions at the staged weigh-in, and a fake scuffle even broke out in the scene, as is known to happen when the fighters face each other down for the photo op.

Road House will also feature former UFC champion Conor McGregor in his film debut. And McGregor was present on set, helping to stir up the crowd. Eventually, the production would move into the octagon, where Gyllenhaal and Hieron would put on a show for the fans, filming the match for the movie. In this incarnation of the Patrick Swayze classic, Dalton’s fight prowess looks to be explained with the background of a professional fighting career. This project, which has been in the works for a while, was once conceived to be a vehicle for former women’s UFC fighter Ronda Rousey. However, as the film got delayed and Rousey’s stock began to wane, the movie had been reworked. The UFC aspect remains to be a big part of the film.

The picture above is a first look at Gyllenhaal as Dalton, from MartialArtsActionCinema’s Facebook account. The remake comes from The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow‘s Doug Liman. It is being produced by Joel Silver, who also produced the original 1989 film. The cast also includes Daniela Melchior, who can be seen in the upcoming Fast X, and Billy Magnussen, who is no stranger to action, having recently been featured in No Time to Die. Road House is set to be released by Amazon Studios.