Zac Efron to Star in Film Adaptation of John Grisham Thriller The Associate

Actor will also also serve as one of the movie's producers

By Peter Gicas Apr 03, 2014 3:00 PMTags
Zac Efron, OscarsJordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Here's some pretty cool casting news.

Zac Efron has signed on to star in a film adaptation of John Grisham's popular legal thriller The Associate, a source confirms to E! News.

What's more, the 26-year-old actor will also serve as a producer on the movie, along with Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher.

In the flick, Efron will play a Yale Law School grad who is blackmailed by a group of criminals and forced to work at the world's largest law firm, where he must spy on their work in a dispute between two powerful defense contractors worth billions.

Word of Efron's involvement in the project comes a little over a week after he was reportedly punched in the mouth after he and a bodyguard got into an alleged fight with some homeless individuals in downtown Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not identify anyone in the police report, but confirmed that two males (presumably Efron and his bodyguard) were stranded because their vehicle had run out of gas and that a physical altercation between two males and "a couple of transients in the area" occurred. However, no arrests were made.

Meanwhile, Efron is set to appear at the MTV Movie Awards on Apr. 13. He is up for best shirtless performance for That Awkward Moment.

His latest movie, Neighbors, will hit theaters on May 9.