Paramount Pictures and Chernin Entertainment have acquired the rights to The Green Hornet, with plans for a new film that will move the property away from its campy roots into edgier territory according to Deadline.
Gavin O’Connor is attached to direct and produce the film remake, and Sean O’Keefe will write the screenplay. O’Connor most recently directed The Accountant with star Ben Affleck.
The remake will not feature the kitschiness of the beloved 1960s television show, which starred Van Williams as Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato, or the comedic action-adventure of the 2011 film, which starred Seth Rogen and Jay Chou (see "'The Green Hornet' Stings Box Office"). The filmmakers intend to overhaul the property’s mythology, immersing Reid in an existential crisis about his true purpose that falls more in line with films like Jason Bourne or recent entries in the MCU.
Peter Chernin has made several investments in geek properties of late. A couple of years ago, the Chernin Group acquired controlling interest in anime streaming service and digital manga platform Crunchyroll (see "Crunchyroll Sold"). Chernin is also working on a Mega Man movie with Twentieth Century Fox (see "'Mega Man' Movie Planned").
Chernin Entertainment is producing Fox Animation’s adaptation of Ben Hatke’s popular graphic novel series Zita the Spacegirl (see "Ben Hatke's 'Zita the Spacegirl' Picked Up for Movie") and the live-action adaptation of Nathan Edmundson’s espionage miniseries Who Is Jake Ellis?. Josh Mond recently replaced David Yates at the helm of the latter (see "Josh Mond to Direct 'Who Is Jake Ellis' Adaptation").
A Clean Slate for the Franchise
Posted by Betsy Gomez on November 15, 2016 @ 11:07 pm CT