After a foray into darker and more serious fare, Zac Efron is ready to return to his rather skilled comedic roots as Variety reports he has signed on to headline indie comedy “Are We Officially Dating?” for writer-director Tom Gormican. Filming begins this fall in New York City on the film about three friends who make a pledge to stay single, just as all three of them begin to fall in love. Sounds like pretty standard rom-com stuff, but Gormican’s script did end up on the 2010 Black List, and with the right cast of young, talented and charismatic comedic actors, this could be something to look forward to.

Efon is currently in Venice where Ramin Bahrani’s family drama “At Any Price” just premiered. He also premiered Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy” in Cannes earlier this year, and will bring both to Toronto next month. Down the pike he also has ensemble family dramedy “This Is Where I Leave You” with Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman and Jason Sudekis, as well as frat house comedy “Townies” with Seth Rogen awaiting production. Looks like the former “High School Musical” star is paving a nice career path with prestige dramas and lighter, more commercial fare mixed in.