All rumors are put down as the official word from NBC on the return of Night Rider are finally announced today. There was speculation that the new KITT was changing bodies from the still cool Pontiac Trans Am to a Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500KR. All of this is true. The new KITT(Knight Industries Three Thousand) will be a Shelby.The new KITT has a sinister bad ass look to it, just as the highly modified Trans Am did over 20 years ago. KITT will feature 3 distinct versions in the new show. KITT Hero is a 540 Hp powered hero car. KITT Attack is a super high performance version, with likely some body changes to set it apart. And lastly is KITT Remote. A driverless version. KITT's voice unfortunately will not have the gravel tone of William Daniels who voiced the original. This time around KITT's voice will be actor Will Arnett.
The new Knight Rider will debut on February 17th as a 2 hour movie. The cast will include Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. One saving grace will be a guest appearance by none other than the "Hoff" David Hasselhoff, who will be reprising his role as Michael Knight. Glen A. Larson who wrote pretty much all of the original Knight Rider episodes was on hand to write the TV movie. So everything should have the same feel as the original show. Just a bit different.
Source: NBC
PRESS RELEASE:
UPDATED 'KNIGHT RIDER' REVS UP TO RETURN TO NBC FOR SPECIAL TWO-HOUR MOVIE EVENT ON FEBRUARY 17 AS NEW KITT CAR IS REVEALED
BURBANK, Calif. - December 12, 2007 - As "Knight Rider" -- NBC's iconic 1980s television classic that became a runaway success, comes roaring back to life on the network with an updated sequel that will air as a two-hour movie event on Sunday, February 17 (9-11 p.m. ET) -- NBC unveiled the new customized KITT Ford Mustang to be featured in the series in a press event held at NBC's Burbank Studios today.
The movie stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case," "All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS," "The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close to Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series -- returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance. Will Arnett (NBC's "30 Rock," "Blades of Glory") will provide the voice of KITT.
Dave Bartis ("Heist," "The O.C.") and Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The Bourne Identity") serve as executive producers. NBC also has an arrangement with Ford Motor Company that provides for a unique content opportunity that makes the Ford Mustang one of the stars of the movie.
The three cars to be employed in the series include the KITT Hero -- a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that is playing the part of the everyday Hero car with 540 horsepower; the KITT Attack -- a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero car that transforms into Attack mode with the help of air-ride technology and specialized body parts -- and a KITT Remote, which is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle.
As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.
Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger.
Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.
David Andron is supervising producer and writer. Steve Shill ("Dexter," "The Tudors"), also a co-executive producer, directs the two-hour movie from Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Productions.
Comments