Justin Lin waved to fans at the premiere of Paramount Pictures' “Star Trek Beyond” at TOHO Cinemas on Oct. 19, 2016 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo : Getty Images/Ken Ishii)
"Star Trek Beyond" helmer Justin Lin has been picked up to direct the CBS' pilot "S.W.A.T." TV drama reboot from a script written by "Friday Night Lights" scribe Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. An adaptation of the classic 70s TV series is back to solve crimes in Los Angeles.
According to Variety, Lin and Thomas will also executive produce "S.W.A.T." along with "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan, Marney Hochman of MiddKid Prods, "Preacher" producer Neal Moritz, Pavun Shetty of Original Films, and Danielle Woodrow of Perfect Store Entertainment. Sony Pictures Television hails it with CBS Television Studios co-producing.
"S.W.A.T." marks the first pilot order under the overall deal Lin's Perfect Storm Entertainment signed with Sony TV last summer, which is exclusive in broadcast and first-look in cable, Deadline reported. It had a pilot production commitment with series penalty behind it. This brings the number of CBS drama pilots to 8.
The script of "S.W.A.T." is described as an intense, action-packed procedural. It focuses on a locally born and bred lieutenant who is torn between loyalty to the streets and duty to his fellow officers when he is tasked to run a highly-trained unit that is the last stop for solving crimes in Los Angeles.
The original "S.W.A.T." series, produced by Aaron Spelling, ran for two seasons on ABC between 1975 and 1976. It followed a team of Special Weapons and Tactics operatives working in California and was adapted for the big screen in 2003 starring "Kong: Skull Island" actor Samuel L. Jackson, "Fantastic Beasts" actor Colin Farrell, "NCIS: Los Angeles" actor LL Cool J, "Furious 7" actress Michelle Rodriguez, and "Avengers" actor Jeremy Renner.
This 2003 feature film "S.W.A.T." is produced by Moritz and directed by Clark Johnson. It grossed $207 million at the worldwide box office and spawned a direct-to-video sequel entitled "S.W.A.T.: Firefight" in 2011.
"S.W.A.T." is one of a few TV reboots this season, as the revival trend is down this year from pilot seasons in recent years. Other reboots in contention for 2017-2018 include "Dynasty" at The CW along with "The Vampire Diaries" actress Nathalie Kelley casting, the female-driven "What About Barb?" at NBC, and "Behind Enemy Lines" at Fox with McG directing.
Watch the video about Justin Lin developing CBS S.W.A.T. reboot series:
