Some exciting news for classic British TV fans. StudioCanal is reportedly moving forwards with plans to reboot legendary 1960’s espionage series The Avengers.
As reported by Deadline the studio, current owners of the rights to The Avengers catalogue, have tapped Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, the writing team behind hit BBC/HBO series Industry to pen the reboot. Whilst Sex Education director Ben Taylor is attached to direct and executive produce. Warner Bros. Discovery production outfit Wall to Wall is set to co-produce alongside StudioCanal.
The Avengers first launched in the UK in 1961 and ran for 169 episodes before coming to an end in 1969. It initially starred Ian Hendry as secret agent David Keel, Keel was assisted by another agent, John Steed played by Patrick Macnee. Hendry exited the series after the first series with Macnee becoming the lead. In a formula similar to Doctor Who, Macnee was joined by a long-line of different assistants including acting legends Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman.
The series was revived by ITV in 1976 for the short-lived series The New Avengers. It was revived again in 1998 for a feature-film starring Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes. Rumours have persisted of a new reboot for the past few years with none coming to fruition.
Check out a trailer for the classic series in the player below:
As per Deadline, there were rumors that the project was in with HBO, but this was denied last year. It is not clear where The Avengers reboot will land. StudioCanal declined to comment as talks continue.
