‘Road House’ Skipping Theaters, Headed To Streaming

Former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who also wore gold at 145 pounds, will star in the upcoming Road House remake alongside Hollywood mainstay Jake Gyllenhaal. But MMA fans (and curious moviegoers) hoping to catch the jacked-up Irishman on the silver screen will be disappointed to learn that “Notorious” and Co. are skipping theaters for a direct-to-digital release on Amazon Prime.

That’s according to a report from Variety.

The Doug Liman-helmed film has seen its share of speed bumps along the way. Not only was production halted by the recent SAG-AFTRA strike, longtime Tinseltown producer Joel Silver — one of the names behind the 1989 classic with Patrick Swayze — was allegedly tossed from the project for “verbal abuse,” though his reps told Variety that reports of his termination were both “irresponsible and defamatory.”

Silver was said to be incensed over the studio’s decision to skip a theatrical release.

A new report from Puck News (via World of Reel) claims Gyllenhaal and his team are “pissed” at the decision to go digital, especially after hosting a private screening for Amazon head cheese Jeff Bezos. Much of the blame for the new release strategy has been attributed to Amazon Studios chief Jen Salke.

Road House will premiere in early 2024, though an exact date has yet to be revealed.