For the second time in a single week, there’s news of a MacGyver project. Different MacGyver projects. One a TV show and now a movie. And we’re kind of dumbfounded.
The first news was an update on a story from last year
The TV show is going to center on MacGyver in his college years, while the angle for the new movie is a mystery. All we know is Neal Moritz, producer of the Fast and Furious franchise, is on board for the film along with the creator of the series, Lee David Zlotoff. Moritz also helped turn 21 Jump Street into a hit movie franchise.
Sure, MacGyver was a huge show when it aired in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The idea of a man who could get out of any situation using science set up pop culture references that can still be made today. It’s also been hilariously parodied in works like MacGruber. There’s some cultural recognition there so making it into a movie or TV show makes some kind of financial sense. But both? That sounds... excessive. Especially if they are different versions. Which is sounds like they are.
Or maybe, everyone is just so confident MacGyver is the man to usher in a new era of multimedia franchise connectivity, the movie version of the new TV show is preemptively moving forward. But I don’t think so. I’d imagine we get one or the other. The world simply isn’t big enough for two MacGyvers.
[Deadline]