Ready for another mission?
The Avengers could finally be returning to our screens (not those ones – the other ones).
A reboot of the cult favourite 1960s spy drama is in the works, with Industry creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay penning the script, while Sex Education‘s Ben Taylor is attached to direct the pilot.
The series is expected to bring back such iconic characters as John Steed, Dr Cathy Gale and Emma Peel, who were played so memorably by Patrick Macnee, Honor Blackman and Dame Diana Rigg in the original run.
The Avengers followed the aforementioned trio and several other operatives of a mysterious organisation known as The Ministry, who were tasked with investigating and shutting down criminal activity in the UK.
Created by Doctor Who‘s Sydney Newman, the show captured the imaginations of many viewers with its action-packed storylines, iconic vehicles and charismatic characters, running for six seasons and returning briefly in the 1970s for a brief sequel series.
Alas, later attempts at reviving the property have not gone well. In 1998, a feature film version emerged starring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman to a thrashing from critics, while proving to be a dismal failure at the box office.
Two decades later, Iron Man 3 director Shane Black attempted to get a pilot ordered to no avail.
Last year, Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse told RadioTimes.com that they too had once been approached to reboot the property, but chose to decline the offer.
Higson explained: “At the time, we said no, but actually, something like that would be fun. We were busy on our own stuff at the time, and we thought, ‘Do we really want to bring back something that’s not going to be as good as the original?’”
With talent from two acclaimed British shows helming this latest effort, which is produced by current rights holder StudioCanal and Warner Bros Discovery’s Wall-to-Wall, there’s reason to be optimistic that it might actually see the light of day.
That said, Deadline reports that “talks” are ongoing over where The Avengers might set up their new base, meaning there’s still a chance that the leading broadcasters and streamers could pass on the project.
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There’s also the small matter of the title, which could need some tweaking following the rise of a certain superhero team.
In 2012, the name of Marvel‘s first crossover film was changed in the UK from The Avengers to Avengers Assemble in an effort to prevent confusion with the 1960s television series.
With the blockbuster comic book franchise now more dominant in our culture, it might be time for the earlier Avengers team to make their own concessions.
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