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Updated April 16, 2020: Universal Pictures has gone into business with Amasia Entertainment for the planned Green Hornet film reboot, according to Deadline.
“The Green Hornet is one of the most iconic and beloved superhero tales ever created, and it has entertained generations of fans in every form of storytelling,” said Universal Pictures’ President Peter Cramer in the announcement. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Michael, Bradley, and the entire Amasia team to launch an exciting new cinematic world for Britt Reid, Kato, and the Black Beauty, and we can’t wait to share it with global audiences soon.”
Universal has a long history with Green Hornet, with the studio producing two film series for the star in the early 1940s. In the 1990s Universal was in active development on a Green Hornet film, announcing at different times it would star George Clooney, Greg Kinnear, Jason Lee, and Mark Wahlberg, with Jet Li at one time signed on to play Kato. The studio lost the rights to the possible film franchise in 2001.
Original story from January 29, 2020: Green Hornet will undergo a film reboot courtesy of Amasia Pictures, a production company run by Bradley Gallo and former Marvel Studios Chief Operating Officer Michael Helfant, as announced in Variety.
Few details of the planned film have been announced, but the reboot does not appear to have any connection to the 2011 Green Hornet film which starred Seth Rogen.
“When I was a kid, The Green Hornet was one of my favorite television series. I loved everything about it – the Green Hornet, Kato, and of course, the Black Beauty. They were the coolest!” said Helfant in the announcement, running down the film rights’ long history. “It was personally painful to leave them all behind when I left Dimension. So I tried to option the property again at Marvel before it went over to Sony, and then again in 2017 before the rights landed at Paramount.”
Interestingly, this would be the first indication Marvel Studios had tried to license an outside superhero – though Helfant’s time with the Studio predates the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“This is one of the only stand-alone classic superhero franchises,” Helfant continued. “We’re a bunch of fan geeks at Amasia and are thrilled about creating something fresh and truly worthy of this legacy property. A new world that is relevant and thrilling, while respecting and honoring the original vision of creator George W. Trendle.”
“On behalf of the family of George W Trendle and The Green Hornet, Inc., we are excited to be working with Amasia Entertainment to bring the legacy of the Green Hornet & Kato back to theaters,” said Linda Trendle Hartle, president of Green Hornet Inc.
No projected release date for The Green Hornet reboot was announced.