Someone must have been digging through old 80s action shows looking for Reboots and realized that someone forgot to tap MacGyver for big screen adaptation gold. Well it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen.
“MacGyver” was a science-oriented adventure series that ran from 1985-92 on ABC. Richard Dean Anderson, later of “Stargate: Atlantis” and “SG-1” fame, starred as an incredibly resourceful secret agent for the Phoenix Foundation who frequently would escape from dangerous situations with ingenious and lightning-quick engineering trickery.
As much as I like Richard Dean Anderson for immortalizing the role and still finding work afterwards, I really hope that if they do this, it isn’t with Anderson. They haven’t said they are pursuing Anderson, and I hope they don’t.
My reasoning is that if they were to do MacGyver with Anderson in the lead role, the movie will be no better than the TV Movie events they made. The concept is pretty cool when you think of it. A guy who fights crime while creatively jury rigging devices? That has so much potential for a cool action movie, but you can’t help but think of the cheesy TV show where it was perfectly normal to see him make a jet ski out of a coffin.
There is potential here for something really cool, but considering Brener’s last line in the interview, I worry that it will just be a cheese fest not worth of another TV Movie.
“We think we’re a stick of chewing gum, a paper clip and an A-list writer away from a global franchise,” said New Line’s Richard Brener, who will oversee with Sam Brown and Walter Hamada.
Can MacGyver be made cool again?
I was a 1AD on a couple of Macgyver movies we shot in England. They had more current & perhaps relevant story lines than the series did & I believe prove that a remake of the show with the right kind of script would be well received. Good Luck! I also worked on SG-1
Sorry Rodney….but without RDA, the movie will not be successful. Those of us who grew up with RDA see movies too. Why is it Hollyweird caters to the 20’s and 30’s era…..we spend money too. As for the writer that said RDA is too old to play the part….look at Harrison Ford in Indy #4. He’s a hell of a lot older than RDA and did a great job. No…the movie wasn’t as successful as the others, but once you get into a fourth sequel, it gets repetitive. Having someone else play “Mac” would be a BIG mistake. It would be like having someone play a younger version of Kirk and Spock on StarTrek. Oh wait a minute….they DID do that and the movie sucked big time. It was in and out of the movie theaters in WARP speed. You’ll see it come out on DVD in the next couple months and you’ll be able to pick it up in the bargain bin for five bucks!! But again Rodney….you’re way off base with RDA and MacGyver.
Sorry Mark. RDA is not God, nor is he irreplaceable.
No actor is.
RDA might have been TV’s macgyver, but that doesnt mean they have to use him in the film. In fact it would be certain death to use him, as it likely would mean that this is a “sequel” or reunion movie for the TV series.
No one wants to see a 60 year old MacGyver trying to be that same guy.
RDA is a MUST for a movie. For those of us who are true MacGyver fans, RDA IS MacGyver. Period. Nobody else can play that part, and have it be the same. Whether RDA is brought back by the Phoenix Foundation to take on an assignment nobody else can handle, or he is helping his son into the field, I am open, but the movie requires RDA. Plain and simple.
please bring back richard dean anderson …..he is macgyver , if u have someone else , than it shouldnt be a macgyver movie
Any actor can be replaced.
It doesnt NEED Richard Dean Anderson. In fact I don’t want to see a 70 year old MacGyver.
If they want to make a MacGyver movie, the CANT use RDA.
I would love to see the pilot starring Jared Padalecki from Supernatural. Supposedly the WB or CB made a pilot of MacGyver. I would have liked to have seen another TV series since the original was cool and the Mastercard commercial was priceless!!
FILLION in 2012!
I also vote for Fillion to replace that no-talent hack Daniel Craig! lol
OK, sorry, I had to do that. I think Nathan Fillion is the man and could pull off the comedy and action of McGyver, but if he does, that means nobody will watch it. I loved that show, but I hope RDA is in a cameo, or maybe occasionally giving tips to his son, the star of the movie.
Nathan Fillian is a fine actor for sure, but why do his most loyal fans think he can play any role?
It would not suprise me to see him recomended for James Bond, the Terminator or the president of the united states.
Whoa Nelly! If they’re gonna hit up Mac, they better redo Quantum Leap! THAT was THE show!
This is going to have the same problem as the forever rumored Magnum P.I. movie. In each instance the actor from the television show is so closely associated with the character (more so in the case of Sellect and Magnum P.I.) that it proves difficult to cast a move with an alternate lead.
At the same time you want the movie to stand on its own and not be seen as just a TV episode with a bigger budget.
Regardless of whichever direction they go I’ll be in line the first night to see this one.
But unlike Magnum, they could replace this lead because the series was more about what he did than the personality and charm of the character.
Magnum was all about Magnum. His charm, his personality. It’s hard to imagine anyone else doing it like Selleck, but not impossible. (I think Clooney would nail it)
@ Darren J Seeley
I rather see a parody film based on Macgruber from SNL instead, sounds more entertaining.
for those making the comment about RDA not beeing in then they wouldnt watch…lol thats cute but get a clue….i have all the episodes of mcguyver stargate sg1 and atlantis….RDA is to old for a reboot movie plain n simple….glad u guys have this intrest in him as do i cause RDA is super cool….but the fact of the matter is that they would need to make a modern version with a older RDA and possibly his son….and of course i new a serenity fanboy would pop up and and say nathan would be perfect…i seriously new someone was gonna say that haha ….ANYWAYS…..w/e just cause caue the 2 guys have cult followings on the net doesnt meen it would be a good fit….but hell maybe it would….i kinda hate the choice just cause all the reasons people love fillian i really cant stand him…he is not a new RDA or any one else
Patty and Selma would throw a fit if it wasn’t played by Richard Dean Anderson!
If RDA isn’t in it, I will ban it from my viewing itinerary. It would be blasphemy to use anyone else!
Never been a huge MacGyver fan. But it was just a matter of time, especially in light of that SNL running skit over the past year or so (some of them w/ RDA)
I see this happening- regardless if RDA is in the part or not. I see this being pitched—and having the flavor of a National Treasure or something along those lines.
1. MacGyver was never NOT cool.
2. If RDA isn’t involved, my interest in the project drops 1,000%. I will watch anything he is in, and as Thos said, he IS MacGyver. Anything else is ridiculous.
3. I will rescind that statement and eat it with icing if they hired Nathan Fillian to play the role and gave RDA a really really great part.
Caveat: if it is a tongue in cheek parody remake like Dukes of Hazard or Bewitched, I will help gather the pitchforks, orange peels, old credit cards, and gum to craft the revenge device.
Richard Dean Anderson IS MacGyver. For me, anything else wouldn’t work. I thought he kicked ass in that commercial he did.
YA i agree with u…but only cause RDA is older now…RDA is one of my favorites of all time.
I gotta disagree with you Rodney, I think RDA can do this without it beeing cheesy 80’s tv movie material. RDA is in his 50’s now, so you’d expect a maturing of the character over time, so I don’t think it will mark it as cheesy.
RDA also will help pull in the original fans of the show (who will bring their children)
Loved MacGyver in it’s day.
Seems to me like a tough crossover. In that we all want big action and sweet gadgets, yet at the same time believable.
I was a kid when the show came out and I seriously believed all the crap macgyver pulled off…like whacking a metal rod against a fire hydrant to magnetize it, and raw eggs fixing a bad radiator. Awesome!
Definitely sounds like a job for Jason Statham
Was it ever big in the UK? maybe its my age but I hear that name and think of a Patty and Selma running gag. Not that the premise doesnt sound good.
MacGyver never ceased to be cool.
LOL. agree 100% will, and thanks for makin me laugh.
The name MacGyver is legendary. The guy could make a nuclear bomb out of 2 matchsticks and a paper clip. I think Macgyver has even got it’s own entry in the dictionary….
If your ever stuck in an elevator and the guy next to says “Ill do a MacGyver”, then your in safe hands.