Autoblog

One week from today, we'll be watching Knight Rider, the 2-hour telemovie that resurrects KITT as a new car (Mustang) with a new voice (Val Kilmer), a new driver (Mike Traceur, son of Michael Knight), and, if ratings are good enough, a probable weekly gig in primetime next Fall. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Before that can happen, the pilot needs to be a success, and we're as interested as everyone else in seeing what the network and executive producer Doug Liman have cooked up. Liman's body of work as a director and producer is so money that despite our fears, the Knight Rider reboot could actually work.

Then again, based on some of what we've seen in the commercials and promos so far, it could just as easily wind up being a giant black hole of suck. On the upside, we expect to be entertained either way. The latest TV spot introduces us to KITT's new, raspier voice and magic disappearing shifter. If you have any issues watching the fancy-schmancy NBC embed above, the YouTube version's pasted after the jump.

[Source: Knight Rider Online]

The original Knight Rider only lasted four seasons, but after seeing the monumental success of Transformers, executives at NBC think a new KITT would make a big splash on the small screen. Veteran producer/director (and David Hasselhoff sorta-lookalike) Doug Liman, has already been tapped to produce the series, and execs from the Peacock are working with automakers to line up a product-placement deal.

If all goes well, we could see Knight Rider part deux next fall, but at this time there's no director attached (though Liman, who has directed hits like Swingers and The Bourne Identity, is reportedly open to the idea of helming the 2-hour pilot himself). Casting the Michael Knight character will surely generate much interest and speculation, and we're curious to see who Liman ultimately taps for the role. As for the Hoff himself, there's no indication he'll be a part of the series, but we think it wouldn't be the same without him. Wait... it might actually be better. We imagine that with this TV revival moving forward, the rumored big-screen adaptation is dead.

Thanks for the tip, Alex!

[Source: Variety]