As we first reported last March, New Line is moving forward with a reboot of Police Academy, the movie franchise that taught America that serving the public trust is essentially a roving frat party with occasional gunplay. Today the L.A. Times offers a few updates on the project, including the fact that original series producer Paul Maslansky will likely not return to direct this new installment, despite earlier rumors, although Maslansky will likely continue to be involved in some capacity. Last year Maslansky talked about how a new Police Academy would concern a “new class” that he hoped to “season with great comedians,” then bake at 250 degrees until it’s all lukewarm and brand recognition-y.
Still, it all depends on the script, which the LAT reports is due to be turned in soon by David Diamond and David Weissman—best known for their work on Old Dogs and When In Rome, so yay. It also depends on whether Warner Bros.—which recently slashed its New Line output from eight movies a year to four—will regard a new Police Academy as a surefire bet along the lines of, say, that remake of The Bodyguard. Considering we’re already picturing a new Police Academy stocked with “great comedians” like Dan Fogler and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, that doesn’t seem likely—although series star Steve Guttenberg also seems pretty intent on returning to the days (literally, days) when he was the biggest star on Earth, and it seems likely that many of the original players could come back as well. Probably not Michael “Motor Mouth” Winslow though, as he’s busy touring his one-man show The Life And Times Of Frederick Douglass, Who Was Also A Robot That Could Turn Into A Helicopter.