Chace Crawford Cuts Loose "Footloose"

First it was Zac Efron, now Chace Crawford. What's an 80s remake gotta do to keep a good man around these days?

Paramount's reboot of "Footloose" has once again lost their leading man. Zac Efron initially abandoned the project over fears that he'd be typecasting himself. Director Kenny Ortega was next to jump ship, claiming he was too spent from all his time on the Michael Jackson doc "This is It." Now Chace Crawford has hightailed it based on scheduling conflicts since both the film and the new season of "Gossip Girl" are set to shoot this summer.

So who will next step into Kevin Bacon's dancing shoes?

Reports claim it might be an unknown but we have a deeper, darker suspicion. After Justin Bieber's dismal attempt at thespian-ism on this weekend's "Saturday Night Live," we don't want execs getting any wild hares. Sure, he's a guaranteed box office gold mine but he's also embarrassingly bad at anything but hair flipping and castrati crooning.

Luckily, there is one shining beacon of hope for "Footloose." The script.

After the studio trashed their most recent rewrite from Susannah Grant ("Erin Brockovich"), writer/director Craig Brewer ("Hustle & Flow") was brought in for a new pass at the story of a town that outlaws music and dancing.

If Brewer can win Three 6 Mafia an Oscar, there's no doubt he can make an 1984 classic shimmy and shake in all the right ways. Paramount chief Adam Goodman would reportedly like Brewer to direct as well but he's already committed to "Mother Trucker" for New Regency.

That means they're still holding out for a hero. He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight.