'High School Musical' vet Kenny Ortega will direct

Think of it as the beginning of the sure-to-be-popular Six Degrees of Zac Efron game.

According to Variety, Efron is ready to step into Kevin Bacon's dancing shoes in Paramount's entirely unnecessary remake of the 1984 classic "Footloose."

The remake is set to reteam Efron with his "High School Musical" (and its sequel) director Kenny Ortega, who would also choreograph the new "Footloose."

Here's where things get a little confusing: The 1984 Herb Ross-directed film featured Bacon as Ren McCormack, a dancing crazed teen who moves to a town where dancing has been banned. Although the movie featured a number of music video-style elements, it wasn't actually a musical, but it was turned into a semi-successful Broadway musical more than a decade later. The trade paper says that Ortega's new "Footloose" will also be a full-blown musical, though not necessarily the same musical that Broadway audiences saw.

Efron is becoming old hat at that kind of confusing transition, though. He'll next be seen on the big screen in New Line's "Hairspray," a movie version of the Broadway musical based on John Waters' film.

The trade paper also says that a third installment of the insanely popular "High School Musical" is in early development at Disney Channel.