On paper, a remake of The A-Team possesses all of the ingredients required for a successful blockbuster franchise. It would be based on a beloved 1980s TV show that comes with a built-in fanbase, name recognition, nostalgia value and an iconic theme tune, which are all things that the major studios in Hollywood love when it comes to rebooting popular brands.
The high concept pitch of an elite team of soldiers being framed for a crime they didn’t commit before escaping from military prison who work as soldiers of fortune to make ends meet both creates a backstory and provides plenty of ample storytelling opportunities for sequels, too, but Joe Carnahan’s 2010 version was a bit of a bust.
The project had spent almost two decades in development hell before being brought to the big screen, and while the central quartet of Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson were solid and the action sequences weren’t too shabby, the story and script weren’t up to scratch and it bombed at the box office after earning just $177 million on a budget of $110 million. A TV reboot was announced in 2015 before never amounting to anything, but insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that Will Smith is being eyed for a role in another new adaptation of the show.
The tipster doesn’t offer any additional information, so if we’re to put our speculating hats on, we’d guess it would be leader John ‘Hannibal’ Smith given that the former Fresh Prince is not far off the same age that George Peppard and Neeson were when they chomped on their first cigars. In any case, 20th Century Fox handled the 2010 movie, so the film rights are presumably in the hands of Disney, but that’s about all we’ve got to go on in regards to a new spin on The A-Team.
