CBS is continuing the trend of movies turned television franchises with a pilot order for Training Day, the 2001 feature film that starred Denzel Washington as a rogue cop and Ethan Hawke as his rookie partner. But not many TV reboots get the original director to return!
Deadline is reporting that Antoine Fuqua will direct the pilot episode of Training Day, and executive produce the series with Will Beall, a former cop turned screenwriter. In addition to helming the original Training Day movie, Fuqua has directed The Replacement Killers, Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Brooklyn’s Finest, Olympus Has Fallen, and The Equalizer.
The Training Day TV series will be more of a thematic sequel than a straight remake of the movie. For this iteration, the corrupt veteran cop will be a Caucasian, while the idealistic rookie will be African-American. The TV series is also set in the present.
Related: CBS Is Bringing Training Day To Television
CBS has had mixed results with it’s previous movie-to-TV cop shows. The much hyped Beverly Hills Cop pilot with Eddie Murphy reprising his Axel Foley role from the films alongside Brandon T. Jackson as his onscreen son never went to series. A TV version of Rush Hour is debuting later this year, but the success or failure of that series won’t impact Training Day, which is said to retain the tone of the movie.
Do you think that Training Day can work as an ongoing TV series without losing its dramatic impact? Who do you want to see cast in the Training Day TV series? Share your dream casting picks in the comment section below!
