Cobra Kai Creators to Adapt Knight Rider for the Big Screen
The cult classic 1980s action drama featuring a high-tech talking car has spawned sequel series, books, video games, toys, and even a fan convention.
(Photo by ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Col)
The folks behind Cobra Kai — namely show creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg — are getting ready to offer their take on another beloved 1980s property, but this time, they’re taking a TV show to the big screen, instead of vice versa. The show in question? Knight Rider.
The hit action series originally aired on NBC from 1982-1986 and starred David Hasselhoff as a former LAPD detective who fights crime with the help of his technologically advanced talking car, known as KITT. The show spawned two sequel series (one in 1997 and one in 2008), a spin-off, three TV movies, and plenty of books, video games, and toys, as well as its own convention, called KnightCon.
Currently, Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg are in early talks to write the screenplay, while the latter two are in talks to direct. Hurwitz and Schlossberg previously co-wrote and co-directed 2008’s Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and 2012’s American Reunion.
All three will also produce the Knight Rider film for Universal, along with the husband-and-wife duo of The Fall Guy director David Leitch and Kelly McCormick through their company 87North Productions, and Gary Barber and Chris Stone of Spyglass.
The film has been in development for some time, with a script previously written by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows. We don’t know what Hurwitz, Heald, and Schlossberg’s new version will look like or be about, but considering their ability to appeal to old generations and new by reimagining classic IP, KITT seems to be in good hands.
