Recent news reports have teased that there will be a new Knight Rider film coming, produced by James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring, Aquaman), and written by T.J. Fixman (Ratchet and Clank).
Many fans are ecstatic. But more are highly skeptical.
Contrary to what many media sites claim, having a "treatment" is not a green-lit script. Even having a completed script is not proof a film will go into pre-production or production itself.
Fans have been teased with a Knight Rider revival for years. David Hasselhoff himself has claimed that Robert Rodriguez was making a movie, then it was James Gunn, John Cena allegedly starring in a comedy version, then Justin Lin and Machima/WB Entertainment making a series, then it was Netflix. Every year the story changed.
All turned out to be broken promises that have kept this property in development hell. The only one to actually attempt and to revive the series was NBCU itself in 2008-9 with the Mustang KITT. The show runner was Gary Scott Thompson who created The Fast and the Furious. (In my opinion it was okay, but the writers weren't given enough of a chance.)
Having familiarity with the Furious brand isn't an asset for James Wan.
The vague description of Knight Rider being an "anti-establishment" tone doesn't give much hope either. No fan in their right mind would ever describe Knight Rider like this.
T.J. Fixman seems to have a bit of a smug attitude too. He was briefly communicated with via Twitter to confirm the treatment, and has asked fans to not present him with ideas or badger him about it. For most fans, posting a photo of yourself as a kid seeing KITT over the water at Universal Studios does not validate your understanding of the classic series or the mythology that made it a pop culture hit. What they need is a writer/director team who were true fans who understand the premise of what Knight Rider was really about.
After many years of involvement with the Knight Rider hobby and intimately studying every aspect that makes it tick, I believe I am qualified to say I know what makes it work. I understand what fans will and will not accept with changing the brand and why it continues to inspire people to still care about one man's dream today. And I understand how Glen A. Larson wanted to update his classic concept to fit in with today's modern era. (I've seen both the original and the 2008-9 series three times, and I've researched and written fan-fiction about it.)
I'm not sure how to feel about this announcement just yet, but as with the previous announcements I'll believe something is really happening when there are teaser posters, casting announcements, and other pre-production procedures. There's a treatment that exists, a studio with the theatrical rights, and discussions.
Beyond that, Knight Rider is still stuck in neutral.
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