Keep your scanners peeled, because ‘Knight Rider’ is set to return!
It was announced today that a new ‘Knight Rider‘ series is being developed by Machinima in conjunction with NBC Universal. Though little was announced about the series, it is being described as a reboot rather than a sequel or spinoff. The reboot, which is currently planning for a 2017 launch, is being creatively shepherded by ‘Star Trek Beyond‘ director Justin Lin. Lin, of course, is no stranger to car-centric action, having directed four out of seven ‘Fast and Furious’ films. Likewise, Machinima has a well-established history of franchise work, having previously been involved with a variety of adaptations and re-interpretations of established franchises, including ‘Mortal Kombat: Legacy’, ‘Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn‘, and ‘Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome‘.
Per Machinima CEO Chad Gutsein, “‘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.”
Created by Glen A. Larson (of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ fame), the original ‘Knight Rider’ series followed David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a former police officer who fights crime with the aid of a variety of high-tech gadgets, including KITT, an artificially intelligent Pontiac Trans-Am (memorably voiced by William Daniels). Credited as Hasselhof’s breakout role, ‘Knight Rider’ continued through four seasons and a handful of TV movies. The property was previously rebooted with a sequel series in 2008, though that iteration was cancelled after a single season.
What would you like to see from a ‘Knight Rider’ reboot? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on the newest incarnation of the franchise as it develops.
