The trend of movies getting TV adaptation continues. NBC is reportedly developing a new series based onThe Italian Job, which is being inspired by both the 1969 original and the 2003 remake. The series will not be a continuation of either movie, rather a reboot, which means it isn’t likely we’ll be seeingMark Wahlberg,Mos DeforJason Stathamshow up this time around.
The Hollywood Reporterbroke the news, but they didn’t mention any actors who are attached to this new version ofThe Italian Job.Rob WeissofBallersandEntouragefame, along withBenjamin Brandare set to pen the script for thenew series, who are also serving as executive producers.Donald De Line, who produced the 2003 remake, will also be executive producing the show. Paramount’s TV division is producing the show, which makes sense given that Paramount Pictures handled both the 1969 and the 2003 movie versions ofThe Italian Job.
NBC’srebootofThe Italian Jobis said to follow a “makeshift” family made up of expert criminals, much like the ones featured in the movies. They are forced to come out of retirement when an opportunity arises to get the leader of their gang of criminals out of jail. Leading the band of criminals will be Charlie Croker, who was portrayed byMark Wahlbergin the 2003 version andMichael Cainein the original. He is described as “a handsome and charming ex-con who tried to go straight, but like the rest of his crew, can’t resist the adrenaline rush of the high-stakes heist world.”
Hollywood is very obsessed with reboots on both the big and small screen, but television reboots of popular movies have been quite the trend lately. Just recently, Fox launched a reboot ofLethal Weaponand FX has had quite a bit of success with their take onFargo. NBC is also developing a series based on theLiam Neesonaction movieTaken, which is set to debut later this season. In addition toThe Italian Job, there are plenty of other movie-to-TV adaptations taking place, includingThe Lost Boys,Varsity Blues,The DepartedandLet the Right One In.
Both of the big screen versions ofThe Italian Jobwere a hit with critics. While box office figures for the original aren’t available, the 2003 remake, directed byStraight Outta Compton’sF. Gary Gray, grossed $176 million worldwide from a $60 million budget. It also has a very respectable 73 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which NBC is surely hoping will translate to viewers tuning in, assuming the show actually makes it to air. The report didn’t make it clear, but NBC will likely shoot and want to see apilotbefore orderingThe Italian Jobto series, which is typically the case, especially for network television. Occasionally a network will have enough faith to order a run of episodes from the get-go, and sometimes a pilot will get shot and never make it to air. We will have to wait and see which way things go with thisThe Italian Jobreboot.
