Zac Efron is what Byron locals would undoubtedly call a 'blow in', a term used to describe folks who migrate to the small, Easterly beach town with hopes of becoming an organic-vegetable-shopping, Roadhouse-coffee-drinking, Pass-surfing local. In this case, the 'blow in' in question is a Californian actor who we frankly hadn't paid mind to since 17 Again, until recently, off the back of a surprising amount of attention following his romance with an actual local.

Now, he's making his Australian film debut, with Stan confirming Efron has secured a role in the streaming services upcoming original film Gold, which is an outback-themed thriller. Very quintessential.

Efron will reportedly be heading to the bush (AKA, South Australia) to start production on 'Gold', which is a classic Aussie thriller about the gold industry, greed, and how far people might go for riches. Deadline reports that Actor Anthony Hayes will direct and co-star in the film, which is reportedly based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Polly Smyth. John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz will produce through their Deeper Water Films banner alongside Hayes for Rogue Star Pictures.

'Gold' follows two strangers who are travelling through the Australian desert and stumble across perhaps the biggest nugget of gold ever uncovered. In a plan to protect and uproot their finding, one man must leave to source the equipment needed to excavate the gold. As the other man waits and protects the bounty, he endures the deserts worst qualities: the elements, wild dogs, and eerie people while coping with the fact that he may have been left behind.

“This is an exciting, gripping and timely tale about greed, humanity, who we are, what we’ve done to the world and where we are heading if we aren’t careful. To have Zac Efron as my main man on this film is an absolute gift and to see what he is creating already is like nothing we’ve seen from him before. I can’t wait to deliver this bold, visceral and cinematic film to audiences all around the world,” director and co-star Anthony Hayes told Deadline.

It's been a while since an Australian thriller really lived up to the expectations, but it's always surreal to see the landscape of the Australian Outback portrayed so viscerally, let's hope Gold doesn't disappoint, and that Efron's accent isn't total garbage.

Image: @zacefron