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Zac Efron is Jonny Quest

By Rodney - April 13, 2009 - 10:19 America/Montreal

With Warner Brothers adapting 60s classic animated adventure series Johnny Quest and the title character will be played by teen heartthrob Zac Efron.

Coming Soon reveals:

After months of rumors, it’s finally been confirmed that “High School Musical” star Zac Efron has signed on to play the title role in Warner Bros.’ planned live-action version of the popular ’60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon show Jonny Quest.

Obviously casting the 21 year old in the role of Quest means that they will be ramping up his age a little. Efron still has no trouble playing a teenager with his boyish good looks and will likely offer a draw to a movie franchise that its target demographic will have no clue about.

However there is a rumour flying around that Warner wants to change the title of the movie to attempt to disassociate it with the 60’s animated series. Apparently they are worried that people will discard any hope in a Jonny Quest adaptation after seeing their Speed Racer film.

Honestly I don’t think that changing the title is going to trick people into thinking this is NOT an adaptation of Jonny Quest. They could call it Adventure Kid, and it would still come out that this is a Jonny Quest movie.

» 20 Comments

  1. Herman says:

    I enjoyed Johnny Quest cartoons as a kid and have often wondered what a live action film would be like. I’m a bit dubious of this movie being any good with Warner Brothers’ crappy extra long Speed Racer film. I do wonder how PC the film will be with his turban friend Hadji.

  2. ChrisP says:

    Oh man!
    “Judo Chop!”

    Somehow, I see the studios casting Dev Patel, of Slumdog Millionaire, as Hadji.

  3. ButterOnMyPopcorn says:

    Is this going to be like live action scooby doo or are they going to try to make this a serious film?

    • Rodney says:

      Because the Scooby Doo cartoons were so serious.

      I can see why you would be disappointed with the movies.

  4. Meli says:

    I loved the cartoon as a kid and I’m disappointed that Efron snagged this role -he’s an awful actor. At this point I think I’ll be staying away from this flick.

    • Rodney says:

      And for every adult they lose, they will gain 10 screaming girls. Its a price they are willing to pay. I think one day Efron will surprise us but I don’t think that today is it.

    • Meli says:

      LoL, true enough about the girl part though my own tween is not counted in that mix.

      As for him surprising us? Hm, perhaps one day, but not until he decides to really study the craft instead of relying on his HSM fame. He was pretty awful, IMO, in Hairspay.

  5. fullmetal_medji says:

    I think I’m the only one who liked the 90s Johnny Quest, but I would love to see Questworld in the movie.

  6. Iknewthiswouldhappen says:

    awww crap.

  7. HAZMAT says:

    How is Zack Efron a bad actor?

    The guy seems to be pretty successful…which means that he has to be a good actor..or in the ballpark…

    Famous= succesfull= somewhat good at what you do

    Sure..some actors are famous but they sure cant act (Keanu Reeves, HHH, John Cena)

    Im not defending the guy, because Ive never seen a movie with him in it but…I dont know why everyones saying hes a bad actor…

    I hope NO ONE….EVER…not goes to see a movie because THAT OTHER ONE sucked
    “Im not watching Superman Returns because Spider Man 3 sucked”
    Thats stupid, if you didnt like speed racer…dont watch it again…but that has nothing to do with Johny Quest

    • Rodney says:

      Keanu can act, he just doesn’t. And those other people you named are not actors, they are wrestlers - only famous as wrestlers.

      Zac Efron is not a bad actor, he just isnt a great one. But he has a lot of popularity that will open doors for him and maybe someday he will surprise us.

    • HAZMAT says:

      Yeah youre right, he was good in speed.
      But hes just so good at the expressionless roles like neo and klatuu…theres no need for acting in those! lol

      I dont know, Ive never seen the kid act so i cant say if he is but a lot of people like bashing on him i dont know why…but im sure hell get really famous later and hell start doing bigger roles

      Speaking of which (i guess) I saw risky business last night…kinda weird seeing Tom Cruse not famous…that was like…his first movie, right?

      I love watching old movies where good recent actors arent famous…

    • methos says:

      so by that logic Schwarzenegger was/is a good actor? I love the guy but his acting chops are, at best, average. And his movies were very successful in the 80’s and 90’s. Same can be said for other action stars.

      What is the relationship you were trying to make between Spidey and Supes? Besides the fact they are comic-book movies. None of them share the same talent. You lost me there. lol

    • methos says:

      Warner Bros took a classic cartoon like Speed Racer and turned it into a live-action flim that failed (or so I heard. haven’t see it). Now WB plans on taking another classic toon and making a live-action movie. I can see why some people would be apprehensive. WB screwed the pooch with Speed Racer, what will become of Jonny Quest??

      I’ll still see it, I guess. Jonny Quest was always a favorite of mine.

    • Rodney says:

      Methos, the point is that you cannot condemn or pre-judge their efforts to adapt Jonny Quest based on an effort to adapt Speed Racer.

      People who choose NOT to see a movie because of a vague and common thread like “both adapted from 60s cartoons” are just ignorant.

      The Examples Haz offered was saying you wouldnt see Superman Returns because you didn’t like Spiderman 3. To expand on that it would be like saying you don’t want to see Nolan’s Batman because you didn’t like Halle Berry’s Catwoman.

      Also, Arnie IS a good actor for what he does. You do not require a master thespian to stand tall, look intimidating and blow shit up. He is an action star and never stretched beyond that. He knows his limitations and that makes him good at what he does. Arnie won’t be doing MacBeth on stage in Stratford.

    • methos says:

      His example just threw me off. I realize the point, but those two movies are just bad examples. Two different movies by different studios whereas Speed Racer and Jonny Quest are backed by the same company, WB. I’m not condemning JQ but I am hesitant considering it’s the same studio. WB hired the creative team behind Speed Racer and look where that got them. Will they make the same type of choices with JQ? I’m not condemning, just in the eye-rolling stage.

      My example of Arnie was in regards to:

      “The guy seems to be pretty successful…which means that he has to be a good actor..or in the ballpark…”

      That seems asinine. Success doesn’t always mean quality. Efron is successful, however he’s not wowing the gals with his acting, is he? And you’re right, I didn’t watch Arnie for his acting either, rather for his silly one-liners and overall carnage. I suppose for brevity sake, my point is, a successful movie doesn’t always equal good acting.

  8. Kristina says:

    I have a problem with the age rampup. The whole point of the cartoon was that Jonny was a young child, not a damn teen, but I suppose they needed a big name for the role and I can’t thik of one young male child actor. I guess you have to change stuff when making the jump to live-action, but I do sort of wish he was still a younger guy.

    Now get Dev Patel to be Hadji.

  9. War-Journalist says:

    Damn. I was really hoping this wouldn’t happen. I have been begging for a JQ movie for years, and now it’s finally happening. Hollywood is like a fucked-up genie. I’ve never seen HSM and I never plan to. If this kid can get serious and play the role the right way, this could be satisfying. He’s a very intelligent, very adventurous, and slightly obnoxious character. But he’s got a good heart and is generally a proper kid. Get all that Efron?
    And I wonder if they will give any explanation for the non-existent Mrs. Quest. I just always assumed she had died.
    And holy shit. Who could they get to play Dr. Zin? Or Dr. Quest for that matter.

    • Rodney says:

      Dwayne Johnson is already signed to play Bannon. But not even rumours on anyone else yet.

  10. MADMAX_007 says:

    Well since Zac is obviously gonna play a teenage JQ, I suppose the movie will be adapted from the New Adventures of Johnny Quest cartoon show of the 90’s because Johnny was an older teen in that show.

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