I’m sure that no one has noticed that making properties popular in the 80s is big right now. From G.I. Joe to Transformers, the childhoods of anyone in their 30s-40s is hitting us full swing. So it should come as no surprise that the David Hasselhoff action series ‘Knight Rider’ is coming to the big screen. In fact, if there is any surprise it should be how long it took!
It looks as if the Weinstein Co., who owns the movie rights to the show, has recently brought aboard filmmaker Brad Copeland (‘Wild Hogs’, ‘Arrested Development’, ‘My Name is Earl’) to write an initial draft of the script. As a script is just initially being put together, we don’t have any solid details though it’s at least a step in the right direction.
With Weinstein Co. backing the film, we can also safely assume there will be a large budget to throw at it. With Pontiac no longer in the picture, I can imagine the muscle car of choice may stay in GM and head over to a Camaro or Corvette. Though if they really mix things up, they could switch over to a Mustang but that just seems so wrong to leave the overall company that way.
The original show was about Knight and his talking car KITT which had an AI built within it. They fought the good fight to stop crime though it eventually came to an end. With Google slowly trying to turn that kind of a car into reality, it’s only fitting that this gets pushed through now. I’m sure the massive sales of other car themed franchises such as ‘The Fast and the Furiou’s are a good reason why this might be being pushed forward. On the flip side, you do have to worry that the attempted relaunch in 2008 was a total flop only lasting 17 episodes.
David Hasselhoff has shown interest in some kind of a role in the movie and there are a lot of ways this could successfully work. He could cameo driving an old Trans Am. He could be the new Knight Rider’s trainer or boss. He could have a Stan Lee type guest appearance.
Would you be interested in seeing KITT back on the big screen? What changes would you want to see from the original series? What kind of car would you want it to be? Most importantly, who could fully replace the Hoff in our hearts and minds as the next Knight?
Source: LA Times.