Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.
Twelve years ago, Friday Night Lights premiered and the lives of anyone that loves the Dillon Panthers/Lions was changed forever.
The original book by Buzz Bissinger is a worldwide phenomenon and Peter Berg’s adaptation of it – accompanied by a stunning soundtrack – is great, but now we’ve got a lengthy feature film reboot to think about.
FNL is set to get the full treatment from Universal, with David Gordon Green tapped to direct.
After the film version proved a modest financial success – grossing the tidy sum $61 million at the box office –Berg and NBC adapted the material for the small screen with Kyle Chandler in the role of head coach Eric Taylor.
The series ran for five seasons, garnering nine Emmy nominations and two wins. After the show went off air back in 2011, there was talk of reviving the series as a film, but to no avail.
Now Friday Night Lights is set return to the big screen, but instead of making a sequel to the film or continuing the TV series narrative – Universal is opting for a total movie reboot.
As reported by Variety, Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green has been chosen as director to make the magic happen.
The reboot, however, may be something entirely different to what viewers may be expecting, as the new piece is allegedly going to be set in a different school and deal with all-new characters while still drawing from Bissinger’s original book.
But, if it’s anything like the TV series or first movie, we know for sure that there will be a mix of both on-field action and character drama.
What’s promising is that people have high hopes for Austin-native Green, who proved himself as a dynamic director with last year’s Stronger, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman.
Brian Grazer is the man set to produce the reboot for Imagine Entertainment. Executive VP of production Jon Mone and creative executive Lexi Barta have also been hired to oversee production for Universal.
A date isn’t set for the reboot just yet, but word on the street is that Universal is very keen to get the show on the road sooner rather than later.
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