The big screen version of The A-Team has gone back to the drawing board, series creator Stephen J Cannell has revealed to Empire. Bruce Feristein, an American writer who penned three of the four Brosnan Bond movies including Goldeneye, was drafted in to write the movie in 2004, but Cannell says a new script is about to be penned by a new writer.
Speaking exclusively to Empire, he said the new script will replace the half-dozen or so which have been written to date. "We were working on a script for a few years but I didn't like it so it's been thrown out," he said."We’ve gone through a lot of scripts that we haven’t been happy with for one reason or another.
We had one script writer who had never even watched the show! The studio was adament about employing him but he just took the title and began to write anything he wanted, completely departing from the original show. The studio didn’t like it and neither did I."
Although the identity of the new writer and details of the plot are unconfirmed, Cannell, who will be producing the film, has made no secret of the fact the 80s cult show will be updated for the new millennium. "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."
But how will it better the chemistry of the original quartet of George Peppard (Hannibal), Mr T (BA Baracus), Dwight Schultz (Murdock) and Dirk Benedict (Faceman)? "I would like the original cast to play a part - to have their input into the movie and to star in cameo roles. As for who will play the new roles, I think Bruce Willis would make a good Hannibal!
"But I think the show needs retuning. I don’t know if BA can say ‘I pity the fool’ because that is so Mr T but Hannibal will certainly be saying, ‘I love it when a plan comes together.’ Little things like that will get a big laugh."
A release date has yet to be proposed but don’t expect to see the movie before 2008.
