Big casting news tonight for one of my all-time favourite movie and novel characters, Irwin Fletcher AKA Fletch.
Fletch is the star of a successful series of books by author Gregory Mcdonald about a quick-witted, funny and determined reporter who finds himself in all sorts of trouble as a regular occurence.
In the 80s he was played – wonderfully, I might add – by Chevy Chase in two movies, Fletch and Fletch Lives, and while the movies weren’t exactly great, Chase knocked it out of the park both times in the role, bringing his signature brand of quick-witted sarcasm and cockiness to the role as only he could.
It was a standout role for him, but the character was more Chase’s than McDonald’s, with the novel’s character having a slightly more hard-nosed feel than Chase allowed.
Last we heard, there planned movie reboot was set to star Jason Sudekis – of whom I’m a big fan – in the title role (here) with Zach Braff and Jason Lee both attached to the role before that. This was in 2015 and there’s been little news since.
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Until, that is, tonight.
Now it looks like Mad Men and Baby Driver star Jon Hamm is set to nab the role in the proposed reboot.
Based on the Gregory Mcdonald novels of similar name, Hamm is set to star as I.M. Fletcher, the quick-witted investigative reporter previously portrayed by Chase in the 1985 cult classic neo-noir comedy and its poorly-received 1989 sequel. The new film is set to be penned by Zev Borow (Chuck) and helmed by Greg Mottola, best-known for directing Superbad and Paul and previously having worked with Hamm on Clear History and Keeping Up With the Joneses.
While Sudekis, Braff and Lee all felt like potential heir to Chase’s throne, while Hamm- a superb actor all round – would also give it that hard edge I mentioned earlier but that’s not to say Hamm can’t do funny as fans of Good Omens or Tag will testify, not to mention his time on Family Guy and American Dad.
Miramax CEO Bill Block said in a statement: “Fletch’s duration over audiences – whether told on paper or the big screen – entertains all and we could not be more thrilled to see what twenty-first century twist these artists create.”
The plot of the proposed reboot will be based on the second novel in the series, Confess Fletch, and “will see Fletch caught in the middle of multiple murders and must prove his innocence while also finding his fiancée’s stolen art collection, which was an inheritance from her father who is missing and presumed dead”.
This is an excting development and I’ve waited for over 30 years to see Fletch return…
What say you all? Are you fans of Fletch? Would you rather see someone else in the role? I want to hear it all, gang… you know I do.
Source: THR
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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