Reboot Promises Grittier 'Green Hornet'

By Justin Kroll, Variety

The Accountant director Gavin O’Connor is set to take on a retelling of the classic TV series The Green Hornet.

Paramount Pictures and Chernin Entertainment recently teamed up to acquire the rights to the show. The cult series was last adapted into a movie by Sony in 2011, starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, and Cameron Diaz. Although the film was more of an action-comedy, sources say O’Connor envisions a darker take on the material.

Sean O’Keefe penned the script. O’Connor and Chernin will produce.

The ’60s series followed a newspaper publisher and his valet, a martial arts expert, who battle crime as the feared Green Hornet and Kato. The series starred Van Williams as the Hornet and Bruce Lee in his breakout role as Kato.

The Accountant surprised at the box office with $128.9 million worldwide on a $44 million budget. O’Connor’s other credits include Jane Got a Gun, Warrior and Miracle.

He is repped by WME and Morris Yorn Barnes. O’Keefe is repped by WME and Brian Lutz Management.

The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.