'KNIGHT RIDER' movie will not star David Hasselhoff
The Hoff won’t be reprising Michael Knight in the new feature.
Former Baywatch grandmaster David Hasselhoff will not be offered the opportunity of returning to the role that made him famous, and he's pissed.
Executive Producer Doug Liman (director of The Bourne Identity) and his colleagues slapped "The Hoff," 55, with the bad news that a fresh actor was needed for the character of Michael Knight in NBC's two-hour update of the hit '80s TV series Knight Rider.
Steve Shill (The Kill Point, Dexter) is set to direct the pilot from a script by Dave Andron. If it's a success, reports Variety, a new series will go into production for the '08-'09 season, and may introduce "evil" cars to do battle against the heroes.
The premise reportedly will stay true to Hasselhoff's '82-'86 series, which followed an undercover cop who, after being shot in the line of duty, got a new face and identity, and became the swaggering lead agent for the privately-funded Foundation for Law and Government. He was partnered with the know-it-all talking Trans Am, K.I.T.T., voiced by Boy Meets World's William Daniels.
It now appears that The Hoff's final turn as the "lone crusader in the shadowy world of the Knight Rider" will remain the '91 TV movie Knight Rider 2000.
However, the singing idol of countless Germans is confident that he will get to make an appearance in the new film, so he can thank fans of the show.
"I think fans will demand that I at least pop up in a cameo," he told Contactmusic.com (UK). "I made the show and fans deserve it."
[Thanks to NELLIE ANDREEVA @The Hollywood Reporter, JERRICA @Movies Online (Canada), and GINA SERPE @E!Online for additional material.]