Rebooting the character made famous by Chevy Chase in the 80's, reboot Fletch Won has been doing the rounds in Hollywood for some time now. Based on the eighth novel in a series by Gregory McDonald, itself a prequel, the movie will take the character back to his roots, showing his early career as an investigative journalist, and be more in keeping with the grittier tone of the novels which was changed considerably for the Chase starring Fletch and Fletch Lives. The project first saw the light of day in 2000, with Kevin Smith attached to write and direct. He remained attached to the project, amid clashes with the studio about casting Jason lee (who wasn't viewed as a box office draw) in the lead role, until 2005, and was replaced by Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, who had an eye on Zach Braff to play a young I.M. Fletcher. That too fell through, and it seemed the project was stuck in Development Hell.
Now, Fletch Won has been resurrected again, with producers Steve Golin and Michael Sugar, and writer David List, trying their darnedest to get the project off the ground. They have already won half the battle, announcing that actor Jason Sudeikis is close to signing on for the title role. With that casting out of the way, their eyes are now on a director.
via The Hollywood Reporter
