The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that 42-year-old actor Michael Pena has signed on to star in the upcoming film adaptation of the classic ABC series Fantasy Island, which will be directed by Jeff Wadlow, in the lead role of Mr. Roarke.
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Fantasy Island ran on ABC from 1977-1984 and quickly became a fan-favorite. The island drama dealt with dark themes and the supernatural with a little bit of cheesiness as visitors would come to the island to live out their fantasies. Guests could request any fantasy on the unique resort island in the Pacific Ocean, overseen by the mysterious Mr. Roarke (originally played by Ricardo Montalban) and Hervé Villechaize’s Tattoo, but those fantasies rarely turned out as expected as visitors found themselves facing challenges that tested their character.
Wadlow previously collaborated with Blumhouse on the recent horror hit Truth Or Dare that earned $100 million at the worldwide box office from a budget of $5 million. He will be co-writing Fantasy Island with Chris Roach and Jillian Jacobs with Jason Blum set to produce. Wadlow will also executive produce alongside Blumhouse’s Couper Samuelson with Ryan Turek overseeing the project for Blumhouse and Matt Milan overseeing for Sony.
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Pena has been a large presence on the big and small screens over the past five years, appearing in big-name projects including the Ant-Man franchise, The Martian, The Lego Ninjago Movie and A Wrinkle in Time, and will appear in the upcoming fourth season reboot of the hit Netflix series Narcos: Mexico, as well as the upcoming Clint Eastwood crime drama The Mule and the live-action adaptation of the classic Nickelodeon cartoon Dora the Explorer as the titular character’s father, which is currently filming in Australia.
Blumhouse’s recent features include The First Purge, Unfriended: Dark Web, and Upgrade. Upcoming projects include the return of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode in the Halloween sequel, M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass starring Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, and Samuel L. Jackson in the third installment of a trilogy that includes previous features Unbreakable and Split, and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman.
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