Gerard Butler bails on ‘Point Break’ remake

Wipeout! Action star Gerard Butler won’t be starring in Alcon Entertainment’s remake of the 1991 surf-crime thriller “Point Break” after all, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Butler was to follow in Patrick Swayze’s footsteps as the nirvana-seeking bank robber Bodhi, acting opposite Luke Bracey (“G.I. Joe: Retaliation”), who is to play the intrepid FBI agent Johnny Utah (originally played by Keanu Reeves).

Due to a combination of creative differences and a scheduling conflict, however, Butler has dropped out of the film, THR says.

“Point Break” is to begin production in June and will span several months and international locales. Butler is also committed to a fall start for “London Has Fallen,” the sequel to “Olympus Has Fallen,” which is one of the few hits the actor has anchored in recent years.

Alcon reportedly intends to keep to its schedule and recast the role in the coming weeks.

Though Butler isn’t a proven box-office draw, the departure nonetheless means the new “Point Break” doesn’t have a big name to anchor it, either in front of the camera or behind it. Bracey is a relative unknown who played his biggest screen role, Cobra Commander, from behind a mask, while helmer Ericson Core hails from the world of cinematography and has yet to make his mark as a director.

The original “Point Break,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow, has developed a cult following with its oh-so-’90s surf slang, copious action, and central bromance between Reeves and Swayze, but that’s no guarantee that the reboot will get by surfing a wave of nostalgia.