New Knight Rider Gets Hoffed

New Knight Rider Gets Hoffed
By Josh Grossberg
Tue Nov 20, 1:47 PM PST

The Hoff is ready to roll.

David Hasselhoff is in talks to reprise his role as Michael Knight in a TV movie sequel to his breakout 1980s hit series, Knight Rider, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

NBC is hoping the TV movie will reboot the franchise and launch a new series. This time out, however, Hasselhoff will cede the KITT-driving to Justin Bruening, who will play Michael Knight's son.

Per the Reporter, the so-called "backdoor pilot" will find Junior holed up in Vegas, where he's in big trouble for unpaid gambling debts and is bitter about his unrequited love for childhood best friend Sarah Kamen.

His luck changes, however, when Sarah (The Young & the Restless actress Deanna Russo), turns up and offers him a way out of his mess.

Little does the younger Knight know that Sarah is the daughter of KITT inventor Charles Kamen, who has gone missing. It's up to Knight to rescue him.

No word yet exactly how big a part the Hoff will have this time around or whether he'll be a regular should a new series get greenlighted.

Producers are also tight-lipped about what kind of vehicle the new KITT will be. The original talking Trans Am was known as Knight Industries Two Thousand. For the new version, the car will be updated to the Knight Industries Three Thousand. Early reports suggested the vehicle would have Transformers-like abilities and indicated producers were still seeking an auto manufacture to partner with.

The Knight Rider telepic is being produced by filmmaker Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity), who may direct the pilot if he can squeeze it into his schedule.

Hasselhoff's last ride with KITT was in the 1991 telepic Knight Rider 2000, and over the years he's made no secret about his desire to rev up a big-screen version. But with the feature film Knight Rider stalled in development, NBC decided to proceed with a new TV incarnaiton.

Meanwhile, Hasselhoff is currently gearing up to star in Tales from the Hoff, a Ryan Seacrest-produced scripted series for E! that will follow his fictionalized escapades, à la Curb Your Enthusiasm. (E! Online is a division of E! Networks.) He's also got a steady gig as a judge on the Peacock's hit reality contest America's Got Talent.




Copyright © 2007 E! Online, Inc. All rights reserved.