The man who man Fast & Furious one of the best action movie franchise around and Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin is reviving another classic SF franchise.
Internet Gaming network Machinima are stepping into television, and with YOMYOMF (YouOffendMeYouOffendMyFamily), Justin Lin and NBCUniversal Brand Development, are to produce a digital reboot of the ’80s NBC television series Knight Rider. 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.”
Although this does sound interesting and people will be wondering if it is a sequel or a remake or if it will have Hasselhoff in it like the previous doomed attempt in 2008 to revive the series, will it actually be another of one of several moribund attempts? Remember Knight Rider 2000? Knight Rider 2010? Team Knight Rider? No? Surely, you remember Knight Rider 2000? It was always on Sky Movie Max. Oh, you didn’t watch Sky Movie Max. Well, nobody did.
Personally, if they want to revive Knight Rider, I’d suggest there is mileage in doing a prequel set in the 1940s. The original hinted at the wartime adventures of Knight Industries CEO Wilton Knight (Richard Basehart) and a young Devon Miles (played in the original series by Edward Mulhare who, despite his RP drama school accent from working in Britain and typecast roles as Englishmen, was as Corkonian as they come).
It was suggested they used early prototype weaponised cars pre-KITT to aid British Intelligence in fighting the Nazis. Yes, someone make this. It’d be like Secret Army with sci-fi gadgetry. Or a dieselpunk ‘Allo ‘Allo. Get the BBC involved! It could be the new Saturday night family series to replace Doctor Who in the spring and summer.
But this new Knight Rider, despite sounding less promising, is the latest in a series of revivals of popular franchises by Machinima, including some of 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, these series have garnered more than 300 million views.
Source: Comingsoon
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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