Conor McGregor is transformed into Popeye the Sailor in a fan-made trailer that has racked up a huge amount of support online for the Road House star to be cast in the role in a real movie. Coming from YouTube creator KH Studio, the concept trailer is another blend of cleverly edited movie footage and AI-generated images and audio and has certainly captured the imagination of many people after racking up over six million views.

McGregor made his film debut in Amazon Prime Video’s remake of Road House, facing off against Jake Gyllenhaal and gaining a fair amount of praise for his part in the movie. Although there are many who have put the success of his performance down to his need to mostly play himself in the role, the MMA fighter will certainly be looking to expand his horizons with other roles in the future.

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If the online reaction is anything to go by, McGregor taking on the role of a dark and gritty Popeye movie appears to be exactly what audiences want to see. Featuring immediately classic lines such as “They’ll feel the wrath of spinach running through my muscles,” the fake trailer impressively puts McGregor in the role of the sailor in the live-action movie everyone now knows the world needs. You can check out the trailer below.

Of course, there is no Popeye movie starring Conor McGregor in development – at least not yet – but back in March it was revealed that the iconic character is getting a new live-action movie from Chernin Entertain and King Features. It will be the first time Popeye is getting a live-action treatment since Robin Williams took on the role in the 1980 movie, which has become a cult classic since being panned on its initial release.

Road House Was Not the First Movie Conor McGregor Was Offered

Although Conor McGregor made his movie debut in Road House, the larger than life star could have appeared in any number of other projects, as the remake was not the first film role offered to him. According to McGregor himself, Hollywood has been knocking on his door for some time, but being well aware of his abilities as an actor, the fighter made a conscious decision to take on only a role he was confident would play to his strengths. He told Total Film at the time:

“I had turned down a good few roles in my time on the climb. I’ve had directors show up at fight camp, really beautiful directors doing really top-end movies… And over and over, they’d come to me, and I always turned them down… I’d leave people a little high and dry. I probably have a few enemies out there that I don’t really know of because I had said, ‘I might do it.’

“I was just in awe of it all, to be honest with you, the whole process. I didn’t know how I was going to take to it. I didn’t know whether I was going to like it, to be honest. I’m a fighting man – that’s my bread and butter. It’s where I come from… I’m not an actor, but I’m show business. That was my vibe to it. I felt that. I enjoyed every second of it.”

Road House (2024)

3.5/5

Release Date

March 21, 2024

Director

Doug Liman

Studio

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Silver Pictures

However, there were times on set when McGregor appeared to be getting a little too into his macho role, and had to be reminded by co-star Gyllenhaal not to actually land his punches. However, while Gyllenhaal was happy to coach McGregor on his acting, it seems that the fighter was also able to coach the actor in his fighting scenes. As Gyllenhaal noted, there was “a real back-and-forth between us, and a deep respect for both our primary occupations.”

Whether the reactions to the concept of McGregor making a seafaring voyage as Popeye has caught the eye of the new movie’s producers or not, it is clear that the MMA fighter has likely not made his last movie appearance. Road House can be streamed now on Amazon Prime Video.