Looks like two of the four central characters are filled (pending negotiations with 20th Century Fox). Of the two, Liam Neeson would star as Col. John “Hannibal” Smith. Bradley Cooper is in talks to play Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck in Joe Carnahan’s (Narc, Smokin’ Aces) adaptation of Stephen J. Cannell’s TV series from the 1980s.
Ridley Scott is producing with Cannell, with Tony Scott as executive producer through Scott Free.
While I could see Mel Gibson or George Clooney or even Bruce Willis in the role of Hannibal, the casting of Neeson just adds to his repertoire of being a just-now-discovered bad ass. I say “just-now-discovered” because prior to his global hit Taken, the public never embraced this side of Neeson. Yet he was Darkman, Rob Roy and he trained both Batman and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Cooper, who’s been rumored to be in the running for the starring role in Warner Bros. adaptation of DC Comics’ Green Lantern, is a more obvious choice as Face, considering he was the “face” of the trio in R-rated hit The Hangover.
According to Variety, Carnahan, Fox and Scott Free will keep the series premise — four war vets wrongly convicted of armed robbery escape from a military prison to become do-gooder mercenaries — but they’ll replace the campy nature of the series with a tone closer to those of Mission: Impossible and Ocean’s Eleven.
Still to be cast are the roles of Capt. “Howling Mad” Murdock, played by Dwight Schultz in the original, and Sgt. “B.A.” Baracus, the role that made Mr. T an ’80s icon.
Personally, I hope they don’t go the rapper-turned-actor route for the role of “B.A.” Either bring back Mr. T., and if that doesn’t work, go for Terry Crews or Michael Jai White.
Murdock, I could easily see Jim Carrey in that role, or someone like Will Patton (Remember the Titans).
Source: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter
