Baywatch movie: Zac Efron to star alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in film reboot

Heart throb turned half-serious actor will play rule-flouting lifeguard

High School Musical star Zac Efron has been rumoured for the lead role in Fox's Grease Live (Getty Images)

Zac Efron is set to don some red shorts for the film adaptation of Baywatch.

The high school heartthrob turned half-serious actor is in talks to join the movie alongside Dwayne Johnson, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Efron last appeared in Neighbours alongside Seth Rogen, surprising critics with his adaptability to comedy.

The plot is expected to be comedic but also has a serious undertone about saving a beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon.

Michael Newman and David Hasselhoff star in Baywatch in the Eighties (Splash/Corbis)

Johnson will play a by-the-book lifeguard who is forced to team up with a rule-flouting youngster (Efron) to save their beloved beach.

Johnson, who has already starred in five films this year, is also set to produce the Baywatch film alongside Dany Garcia. Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief) will direct the movie.

With Johnson known the world over thanks to roles in Fast & Furious and San Andreas, if the film can strike the right chord between nostalgia and funny but not far-fetched comedy, Baywatch could be ripe for a franchise when the movie is released in 2017.