The Green Hornet could be buzzing back onto the big screen.
On Tuesday, Deadline broke the buzzing news that Paramount Pictures and Cherin Entertainment are in collaboration with Gavin O’Connor directing a reboot of the masked pulp hero that could led to a potential franchise. O’Connor directed “The Accountant” starring Ben Affleck, aka Gotham City’s dark and brooding billionaire vigilante superhero Bruce Wayne/Batman in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and next year’s “Justice League”.
Just so you know, the Green Hornet is one of the precursors to Batman.
Created by Fran Striker and George W. Trendle in 1936, the Green Hornet is the alter-ego of crusading “Daily Sentinel” publisher/owner Britt Reid. The blood relative of the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains known as the Lone Ranger, Reid continues the family business of crime-fighting in the modern world by fighting fire with fire as a masked vigilante who protects the law – by breaking the law. Pretending to be the most masterful and notorious criminal of all time, the Green Hornet faced one challenge after another with his kung-fu aide Kato and their rolling arsenal, Black Beauty: putting the sting on protection rackets, bootleggers, corrupt cops, greedy politicians, etc. Wanted by the police and feared by the underworld, the Green Hornet and Kato secretly serve on the side of law and order, and justice: protecting the rights and lives of decent citizens.
“As a kid, when most of my friends were into Superman and Batman, there was only one superhero who held my interest – The Green Hornet,” O’Connor said. “I always thought he was the baddest badass because he had no superpowers. The Green Hornet was a human superhero. And he didn’t wear a clown costume. And he was a criminal – in the eyes of the law – and in the eyes of the criminal world. So all this felt real to me. Imagine climbing to the top of the Himalayas, or Mount Everest, or K2 over and over again and no one ever knew? You can never tell anybody. That’s the life of Britt and Kato. What they do, they can never say. They don’t take credit for anything.”
The Green Hornet appeared in two movie serials in 1940 and 1941, but reached cult icon status thanks to the television series that aired on ABC for 26 episodes from 1966 to 1967. The show was indeed a breakout role for martial arts superstar Bruce Lee as Kato opposite Van Williams as the Hornet. The name of “The Green Hornet” is legendary known as one of ABC’s masked crime-fighters alongside Clayton Moore as “The Lone Ranger”, Guy Williams as “Zorro”, and Adam West as “Batman”. The Green Hornet was remade into an action-comedy in 2011 starring Seth Rogen as Reid/the Hornet, Jay Chou as Kato, and Cameron Diaz as Lenore Case.
“…I’m beyond excited to bring The Green Hornet into the 21st century in a meaningful and relevant way; modernizing it and making it accessible to a whole new generation,” O’Connor stated. “My intention is to bring a gravitas to The Green Hornet that wipes away the camp and kitsch of the previous iteration. I want to re-mythologize The Green Hornet in a contemporary context, with an emphasis on story and character, while at the same time, incorporating themes that speak to my heart. The comic book movie is the genre of our time. …”
More on O’Connor’s Green Hornet can be found at Deadline (http://deadline.com/2016/11/the-green-hornet-gavin-oconnor-paramount-chernin-entertainment-bruce-lee-1201854807/).