It’s almost exciting to see that a property like The Fugitive still carries such viability that it’s now par for the course now with a total of three revivals – the latest coming from director Albert Hughes (Alpha, The Book Of Eli) according to Deadline.
The Fugitive originally premiered on ABC TV in 1963 with actor David Janssen in the role of Richard Kimball, a physcian framed for the murder of his wife and forced on the run from the law in order to find her real killer. The series followed suit with Warner Bros. commercially successful 1993 theatrical adaptation of the series starring Harrison Ford, produced by Anne and Arnold Koepelson, and earning co-star Tommy Lee Jones, who played the dogged U.S. Marshal assigned to catch him, an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor on top of the film’s seven other nominations; Jones later reprised his role opposite Wesley Snipes and Robert Downey Jr. in the 1998 sequel, U.S. Marshals.
As Mike Fleming Jr. reported on Tuesday, Warner Bros. is aiming to put “a new spin” on their latest venture with Erik Feig producing from a script by Brian Tucker (Broken City). The studio previously signaled their efforts back in 2015 which would have had the Koepelsons returning to produce from Christina Hodson (Bumblebee, upcoming Birds Of Prey).
Actors Kiefer Sutherland and Boyd Holbrook are currently involved with a different take of their own now in production for shortfilm content plarform, Quibi, while Warner Bros. International and TV Asahi are in the works as of April with a version that is set to star Ken Watanabe.
Hughes’ attachment to the studio’s new feature film efforts add to his current workpile with the director also attached to helm ripped-from-the-headlines crime drama, North Hollywood, set to shoot next year.