Any High School Musical fans hoping to see Zac Efron return to his musical roots after seeing the music-heavy We Are Your Friends will be disappointed to hear that Efron won't be serenading us anytime soon. After starring in this summer's millenial, coming of age film, We Are Your Friends, Efron will take a break from dramatic roles and throw himself squarely into bromedy — bro comedies. The next Zac Efron movies will see the Disney heartthrob and secretly hilarious star hitting the big screen in a string of bro-friendly films, making 2016 the year Efron takes on comedy. I know, the wait from this summer's We Are Your Friends to 2016 means that we will have to go the entire rest of 2015 Efron-less, but hopefully the films we'll see next year will be worth the wait.
The next Efron movies include the sequel to his 2014 hit Neighbors , plus a few other films that are sure to show off the actor's comedy skills. Don't worry, boys and girls, Efron may not be singing again on screen, but I'd bet anything he will appear shirtless in more than one scene (with all due respect to his actual acting talent). Plus, his charming smile and comedy chops should be able to keep us all entertained, with or without the gift of song.
Dirty Grandpa
First up, Efron will star in Dirty Grandpa, a buddy comedy in which Efron plays Jason, a straight-laced young man on the cusp of getting married, who gets roped into driving his — you guessed it — dirty grandfather to Spring Break in Florida. Dirty Grandpa might sound like your run-of-the mill, Jackass-inspired bro comedy, but the fact that Efron is co-starring alongside Robert De Niro (who, I assume, is playing the grandfather), Aubrey Plaza and Adam Pally gives me hope that the film has much more to offer than sex jokes and gross-out moments. Dirty Grandpa is set for release on Jan. 22.
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Efron will follow up Dirty Grandpa with Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, the sequel to Neighbors, aka the movie that proved Efron had the chops to be a comedic actor in the first place. The entire team, including director Nicholas Stoller, is returning for the sequel, set to hit theaters May 20. Efron will reprise his role of Teddy Sanders, the trouble-making frat boy living next door to new parents Kelly (Rose Byrne) and Mac (Seth Rogen). Dave Franco, Ike Barinholtz and Carla Gallo are also returning. Little is known about the sequel, but based on the title, and given the fact that Chloë Grace Moretz is a cast member, it's likely the film will introduce a sorority of pranksters willing to take on Efron and his house.
Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates
Efron just wrapped filming Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, written by Neighbors screenwriters Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. The comedy is about two brothers, played by Efron and Adam Devine, who place an online ad looking for wedding dates, and go off on a wild adventure when the ad goes viral. Somewhere along the line, the two brothers meet Alice and Tatiana — supposedly their female counterparts — as played by Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza, respectively. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates certainly looks like it will fit in nicely with Efron's growing repertoire of comedies, but here's hoping the presence of Kendrick and Plaza lifts the comedy out of full-on bro territory when it is released on July 8.
Baywatch
While he's promoting all these comedies, Efron will also be shooting the new Baywatch comedy, based on the 1990s television show. The film, from Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon, will also star Dwayne Johnson. No other cast members have been announced, and plot details are being kept under wraps, but Johnson described it on Instagram as "big, fun, global, sexy and bad ass mixed with 'This is my beach bitch' kind of RATED R comedy." I don't know what that means, but I do know this: Efron and Johnson make one handsome couple.
Also, if this could make it into the movie, that would be cool.
