Chace Crawford Gets Footloose

Gossip Girl heartthrob Chace Crawford is set to follow in Kevin Bacon's funky footsteps when the remake of 1984 classic Footloose starts filming in 2010.

Us Weekly first reported the news that Crawford had stepped in to replace a reluctant Zac Efron, who ducked out of the gig to avoid being typecast as the musical guy, following his successful stint in Disney's "High School Musical" franchise. According to Us, Crawford had been in contract negotiations for the iconic role of Ren McCormack for some time, but was having trouble fitting the movie in alongside his Gossip Girl schedule. Other front-runners included Derek Hough, David Cook and Bow Wow, after Efron dropped out of the coveted part in March.

The remake will be helmed by Kenny Ortega, director of Efron's "High School Musical" trilogy. According to Reuters, Crawford is expected to continue his role as dreamy Upper East-Sider Nate Archibald in the third season of Gossip Girl, which will air on the CW this fall.