The network has given a put pilot commitment for a new take on the Stephen J. Cannell series. It will be headed up by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the directors of the successful 21 Jump Street movies (which were based on Cannell’s TV show of the same name) and The Lego Movie. They will executive produce with television director Tawnia McKiernan, Cannell’s daughter.
Written and executive produced by Rodney Rothman, the new pilot’s plot sounds a lot like the original 1980s action comedy. The story follows an inner-city teacher named Isaac. He acquires a superhero suit that gives him super abilities but he has to learn how to use them through trial and error because he’s lost the instruction manual. His partner is a government handler who has different ideas of how Issac should use his new-found powers.
Debuting in 1981, the original ABC series follows reluctant hero and public school teacher Ralph Hinkley (William Katt), FBI Agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp), and Hinkley’s girlfriend, lawyer Pam Davidson (Connie Sellecca), through a series of misadventures.
The show ran for three seasons before being cancelled. The cast reunited for an NBC pilot called The Greatest American Heroine that saw Ralph turning over the suit to a worthy successor, a kind elementary school teacher (Mary Ellen Stuart). It didn’t move forward.
There’s been talk over the years of a new feature film and, in 2009, Nathan Fillion mentioned he’d be interested in doing a new version. Neither have happened.
In 2008 however, Katt authored a three-issue comic series that was based on the show but featured an updated retelling of the pilot.
No word on if the newest version of The Greatest American Hero will reference the original series or if Katt or Sellecca will be asked to participate.
What do you think? Are you interested in a new version of this show? Would you like to see Katt or Sellecca participate in some way?
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