stephen j. cannell Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Great, now I have that damn theme song in my head. A big-screen A-Team movie had been rumored for awhile now, with series creator Stephen J. Cannell championing the project for the past few years. Last we heard, some unknown writer had been tapped to throw together a script, and now Latino Review reports the new and improved A-Team flick might have snagged a director: John Singleton. Oh yes. Because when you can't remake Boyz in the Hood, you settle for the next best thing -- a group of guys in a kickass van who go around blowing sh*t up. I pity the fool who thinks this is a bad idea.

But don't think you'll be getting a lot of the cheese from the old show. Cannell has said that he wants to update the A-Team, and instead of all of them being Vietnam vets, they'll most likely be vets of the Iraqi war (or the writer's strike ... or something). And it'll be darker in tone; people will actually die in this film, unlike the TV show. LR says it will be in the vein of Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. Okay, so will we see any cameos from the original cast members? As recently as this past May, Mr. T body-slammed the idea of a cameo, as only Mr. T would. He said, "We don't do cameos! You don't disrespect us, or 'Pow! Pow! it's insulting me to ask me to be in it [as someone else]. It's just like my ex-girlfriend saying 'Why don't you come out to dinner with my new boyfriend?' You see what I mean? I am not going to do that." Aside from A-Team, Singleton just signed on to direct the oddly titled Executive Order: Six. We're not sure whether one will come before the other, or if this rumor is any true, but we might as well start debating: Who would you like to see in the new A-Team movie. For ideas, check out our dream cast, including Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

After sorting through a half-dozen writers (including one who never even watched the original TV show), a big-screen version of The A-Team is slowly taking shape. Series creator Stephen J. Cannell spoke with Empire and provided us A-Team fanatics with a brief update on the film, which probably will not arrive in theaters until at least 2008.

While Bruce Feristein was brought on to pen a draft back in 2004, he has since been replaced by an unnamed writer in the hopes that someone will finally get the damn thing right. Regarding plot, Cannell noted the film will be updated for the new millennium and may focus on recent conflicts in the Middle East. He says, ""I want to create it as taking place today. So the Gulf War could be a great angle. In the original, the A-Team were on the run after robbing a bank under orders just as the war ended. In this, maybe the four would raid Saddam Hussein's bank or whatever."

As far as cast goes, Cannell admitted he would like the original TV cast to play a role in the pic, whether that be behind the scenes or in some sort of brief cameo appearance. Also, he feels Bruce Willis would play a wonderful Hannibal ... and I totally agree. However, how in the world do you replace Mr. T as BA Baracus? Are there any actors out there worthy of taking on the role?