Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/01/29/a_team_movie/

The A-Team flies into Hollywood

I ain't goin' on no adaptation, fool!

By Lester Haines

Posted in Bootnotes, 29th January 2009 10:34 GMT

Twentieth Century Fox has enlisted director Joe Carnahan to bring 1980s TV series The A-Team to the big screen, Variety reports.

The project, slated for a summer 2010 release, sees Ridley Scott producing with brother Tony in the exec producer's chair under their "Scott Free" banner. Canahan will rework a script by Skip Woods (G.I. Joe) to deliver a movie which "reflects on the real world without losing the great sense of fun and the velocity of action in a classic summer popcorn film", as the helmsman put it.

Carnahan added: "This was a coveted property, and reimagining a show that I remembered as a kid was tough to turn down. Fox hired me to make it as emotional, real and accessible as possible without cheesing it up."

Carnahan and the Scotts say they'll use "the original premise" of The A-Team as a jumping-off point for the film, although the Middle East will replace Vietnam as the warzone where the team was "accused of a crime they didn't commit".

According to the BBC, Bruce Willis and Ice Cube have been linked to the project, but the casting has yet to be confirmed. ®

Bootnote

Variety notes that Fox has "struggled to find a way to exploit the branded TV show while avoiding the series' campy tone". Since this was part and parcel of the show's appeal, it remains to be seen just how entertaining audiences will find a campless A-Team.