BAYWATCH Movie: Alexandra Daddario, Nina Dobrev, and More Testing For Female Lead

After years in development, Paramount is finally moving forward with their big screen adaptation of the popular '90s TV show Baywatch. Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron are starring, with Johnson as "a by-the-book and very serious lifeguard who is forced to team up with a young rule-flouting hothead (Efron) in order to save their beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon." Now Deadline has a list of actresses who are reportedly up for the female lead.

Here they are: Alexandra Daddario (Percy Jackson, pictured left), Ashley Benson (Spring Breakers, Pretty Little Liars, pictured center), Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries, The Final Girls, pictured right), Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse), Shelley Hennig (Ouija, Teen Wolf), Bianca Santos (The Duff), and Denyse Tontz (Big Time Rush).

If the movie is anything like the show, one of the most important aspects of these characters is going to be how well they can fill out a red bathing suit. Johnson and Efron will provide some eye candy, and I'm sure all of these new potential candidates can hold their own in that department as well. If I had to guess who'd ultimately be cast, though, I'd put my money on Alexandra Daddario, who broke out after her, um, memorable appearance in the first season of True Detective. She already has a working relationship with Johnson since she played his daughter in the earthquake disaster film San Andreas, and I imagine that gives her a leg up on the competition. We'll see what happens: Deadline points out that it's possible producers will expand the search for the leading lady, and some of these actresses may end up being cast in other roles in the film.

Production starts early next year for director Seth Gordon, so we'll keep you abreast of any important updates.