New 'Baywatch' Images Feature The Rock Not Hassling The Hoff

Once upon a time, Baywatch was one of the most popular television shows in the world, which made series star David Hasselhoff one of the most watched actors in the world. Pamela Anderson's C.J. Parker may have grabbed all of the headlines, but it was Hasselhoff's Mitch Buchannon who served as the show's constant center, appearing in every season of the original show before making the jump to the ill-fated Baywatch: Hawaii. He was a known commodity before this series (Knight Rider, anyone?), but the man's legacy will ultimately revolve around him running shirtless on a beach in extreme slow motion.

And since he probably doesn't have anything better to do these days, Hasselhoff officially signed on to appear in the upcoming film version of Baywatch a few weeks ago. Now, set pictures have arrived online, showing him standing alongside the one and only Dwayne Johnson. This is what happens when two completely separate pop culture hemispheres collide.

Although any mortal human being would look pale and sickly next to The Rock, The Hoff looks pretty damn good for a 63-year old man. The exact nature of his role in the film remains unknown (it will mostly likely be a brief cameo), but it's just plain nice to see him involved. After all, no matter how this movie turns out, it surely won't be as humiliating as whatever he's asked to do in the upcoming Sharknado 4. The big question mark now is whether or not Pamela Anderson will agree to make an appearance.

Since this version of Baywatch, which is being helmed by Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief director Seth Gordon, is an R-rated comedic riff on the original series, we can probably expect Hasselhoff to parody his original performance in some way. And if the past decade or so has taught us anything, it's that The Hoff isn't afraid to make fun of himself and his onscreen persona. After all, he displays an admirable lack of shame in movies like Piranha 3DD and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Baywatch, which also stars Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Priyanka Chopra and Hannibal Buress, will be released on May 19, 2017. Whether this will be a 21 Jump Street-style smash or a disastrous belly-flop remains to be seen, but in the meantime, you can check out the gallery below if you want to see more shots of Hasselhoff and Johnson striking dynamic poses on the beach.