There’s a Reboot of ‘The Saint’ in the Works, R.I.P. Original Ideas

It’s hardly news that Hollywood has really been reaching in recent years, and no movie, TV show or cartoon is safe from the reboot machine. Just when you thought we’d reached peak reboot with the upcoming Power Rangers movie, Paramount has proven that we haven’t reached the bottom of the idea barrel just yet: The studio is developing a redo of The Saint with plans to — surprise! — hopefully launch a new franchise.

You probably recall The Saint best as that 1997 movie starring Val Kilmer; you may have even owned the soundtrack (at least two of my high school boyfriends did). But the franchise has a long history that dates way back to 1928, when it was originally published as a series of novels that eventually inspired a radio show, a handful of movies and a famous ’60s British TV series starring Roger Moore.

Per Deadline, The Saint will return yet again with a new film in development at Paramount, with executives hoping to launch a new action-thriller franchise based on the prolific series. Val Kilmer was previously developing a new Saint film, but it’s unclear what — if any — involvement he’ll have in the reboot.

Created by Leslie Charteris, The Saint centers on Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like character who targets corrupt politicians, criminals and various ne’er-do-wells, often leaving a drawing of a stick figure with a halo as his calling card. The 1997 film directed by Phillip Noyce depicted Templar as a high-tech thief and master of disguise who uses the names of various saints as his aliases.

No word yet on who might script, direct, or even star in Paramount’s reboot, but may I suggest a Christopher McQuarrie or a Shane Black?