Rumor: Universal Pictures ‘Knight Rider’ Revival Is Tied To A Shared Universe That Will Include ‘Airwolf’ And ‘Six Million Dollar Man’ Reboots
There’s an update to a previous story, and it’s big if you are a fan of 70s/80s sci-fi action TV. The plans for a Knight Rider feature film go beyond that. According to a new rumor, Universal Pictures wants to do things the Marvel and DC way and set up a shared universe dominated by characters from classic TV shows.
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Per Cosmic Book News, the Tachyon Pulse podcast claims Universal wants a larger toy box that contains and connects recognizable small-screen IPs they own. The ones they have in mind to go with Knight Rider are Airwolf and The Six Million Dollar Man.
Allegedly, the new Knight Rider will serve as the Iron Man-level entree into this united TV verse and, if successful, they will roll out the Captain America and Thor of cyborg Steve Austin and the top-secret attack helicopter flown by the cello-playing Stringfellow Hawke.
It’s said this grand scheme arose during the writers’ strike. Universal started considering resurrecting dormant franchises, and the team of Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald are supposedly “pushing the concept forward” now that they are done with Cobra Kai.
This endeavor would likely favor streaming over theaters and spawn a 10-episode series if the Knight Rider movie performs well. Then it would beget Airwolf and SMDM spinoffs that build to a big crossover, but we shouldn’t expect to see anything in motion until 2027 if the rumor is true.
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Additionally, the hook that binds everything together will be AI. The technology that gives Kitt sentience, runs the Airwolf, and provides function to Austin’s replacement parts will be AI-based. This would set the stage for the “overarching villain” and “could lean into a more grounded but futuristic take, making the connection between the properties feel more seamless.”
It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, but the creators of Cobra Kai might be able to pull it off if their proven respect for the properties they handle holds fast. Universal has tried and failed before to reboot Knight Rider, and also The Six Million Dollar Man via The Bionic Woman, which had a revival in 2007 that came and went in a flash.
Mark Wahlberg has been attached to a cinematic reboot of SMDM called The Six Billion Dollar Man for a few years, but it might have stalled if Universal is indeed pursuing other options.
As for Airwolf, a show with a devoted following that ran from 1984 to 1987 and starred the late Jan-Michael Vincent and the late Ernest Borgnine, this is the first ever hint of interest we have heard in the property taking to the skies again.
Still, it never left the hearts and minds of its fans. One listen to the show’s unforgettable theme, and you’ll understand why.
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