Jake Gyllenhaal In Talks To Star In Michael Bay Thriller Ambulance

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Audience favorite Jake Gyllenhaal is reportedly in talks to star in director Michael Bay’s latest thriller, Ambulance. Gyllenhaal’s most recent films have been Spider-Man: Far From Home and the horror thriller Velvet Buzzsaw, while Bay launched 6 Underground last winter.

Since gaining international acclaim in 2005 for his role opposite Heath Ledger in Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain, Gyllenhaal has taken on various interesting roles. However, in recent years, his preferred genre seems to be the thriller, which has brought him varying degrees of success. At the same turn, Bay has long been regarded as one of the biggest names working in over the top, highly polished special effects extravaganzas. This reputation has often made him the target of cynicism and ridicule from critics, though his movies continue to bring in decent profits. Bay arguably received some of his best reviews of the past fifteen years when he released the 2013 action-comedy, Pain & Gain. It was a somewhat departure for the veteran filmmaker, which harkened back to his glory days of the Bad Boys films.

According to Deadline, it looks as though Gyllenhaal and Bay may be teaming up for Ambulance. The project is being fast-tracked by Bay, and an early January 2021 start to production is in the cards. Gyllenhaal is one of several actors currently in talks to star in the thriller, which is said to be in the vein of ’90s era action-thrillers like Speed and Bad Boys. At the moment, there is no indication as to what sort of role Gyllenhaal would potentially be taking on in the film. Still, if it’s a Michael Bay action-thriller, then there’s every reason to believe that Gyllenhaal’s role will involve its fair share of pulse-pounding moments.

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The script – written by Chris Fedak (Prodigal Son), has been in high demand around Hollywood, with Bay instantly having fallen in love with it. A rumored (but unconfirmed) breakdown of the plot involves two brothers who steal an ambulance after the robbery they were involved in goes awry. If this is indeed what can be expected from Ambulance, it will be interesting to see who else is being considered to star alongside Gyllenhaal. And of course, if the film is in the vein of ’90s era action-thrillers, then it’s easy to assume that much of the action will take place inside the ambulance – no doubt driven at breakneck speeds through a major metropolis like L.A. or New York City.

Despite the positive buzz that has surrounded the Ambulance script and Gyllenhaal’s potential involvement in the project, there will be no shortage of people who feel that Bay has consistently proven himself a disappointment. The action-thrillers of the ’90s were certainly a lot of fun, but Bay’s style of filmmaking needs an update. Bringing back a decades-old genre is a great idea – but only if it’s been adequately updated to suit the current blockbuster climate. There’s no reason to think that Bay can’t open a new chapter in his career, but to date, there hasn’t been a lot of evidence to that fact.