There has been a lot of conversation about Hollywood’s tendency to recycle properties from the past. Sometimes it’s a lack of creativity from film studios. Other times, the given property just makes sense to bring back.
The next major 1980’s franchise coming back to the small screen is Knight Rider. The original series was an enormous hit and made a star out of series’ stars, David Hasselhoff and the autonomous Trans Am, KITT. The show ran from 1982 to 1984 and will be rebooted in a brand new web series for Machinima. However, the far most exciting part of the new show is that it will be produced by Hollywood heavyweight, Justin Lin.
Machinima CEO Chad Gustein gave a little insight into the project.
“Knight Rider is an iconic franchise whose concepts of AI and autonomous vehicles were science fiction in the 1980s and are now science fact. Justin is one of the leading storytellers of his generation and we couldn’t be more excited to work with him on re-invigorating Knight Rider for a new generation of fans.”
Companies like Tesla and Google have made headlines for their research and applications in the field of self-driving automobiles. So the premise of a car being the sidekick, or superhero, of the story is not that far-fetched of a notion.
Lin’s filmography continues to diversify in many unpredictable ways. He went from revitalizing the Fast and Furious to delivering on this past summer’s acclaimed Star Trek Beyond, as well as developing the sequel to Space Jam. As of now he is simply producing the Knight Rider reboot, but we will see if he is wrangled into the director’s chair for the pilot episode.
The question that comes to mind is how high will the production budget be for a series that primarily relies on car chases and explosions. However, it’s being brought to Machinima by NBCUniversal Brand Development and Lin’s YOMYOMF, so there shouldn’t be a shortage of resources. There aren’t any further details on the length of the series or the direction of their casting. But expect much more in the near future.
Check out the official press release:
YOMYOMF, JUSTIN LIN, MACHINIMA AND NBCUNIVERSAL PARTNER TO PRODUCE DIGITAL SERIES REBOOT OF THE BELOVED 80’S NBC TELEVISION SERIES KNIGHT RIDER
Los Angeles, CA – October XX, 2016 – Machinima, the first global many2many programming service focusing on fandom and gamer culture, announced today that it has partnered with YOMYOMF, Justin Lin and NBCUniversal Brand Development to produce a digital reboot of the 80’s NBC television series Knight Rider. YOMYOMF and Lin will produce the new digital series that is in active development for a potential 2017 launch date.
This deal is another example of Machinima working with elite talent inside and outside of its network to deliver high-profile, live-action series to its extensive worldwide audience. The announcement was made by Machinima CEO Chad Gutstein.
“Knight Rider is an iconic franchise whose concepts of AI and autonomous vehicles were science fiction in the 1980s and are now science fact,” said Gutstein. “Justin is one of the leading storytellers of his generation and we couldn’t be more excited to work with him on re-invigorating Knight Rider for a new generation of fans.”
The series is the latest in a long list of long form, live action series based on the world’s most popular television series and video game franchises that Machinima has produced, some of which are among the most watched online programs in history. It will join the likes of Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, Mortal Kombat: Legacy and Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2, Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist and Street Fighter: Resurrection, and Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Combined, those series have garnered more than 300 million views on Machinima.
The new Knight Rider series is expected to debut in 2017.
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Source: IGN