Fox has issued a put pilot commitment for a new TV series based on the 1994 action-comedy blockbusterTrue Lies, with original director James Cameron set to executive produce the series. He will be joined by fellow executive producers McG, through his Wonderland Sound and Vision company andArrowco-creator Marc Guggenheim. With the network issuing a put pilot commitment, that practically guarantees the show will get a series order, since the network will have to pay a substantial penalty to the producers if the pilot episode doesn’t air.
Deadlinebroke the news on this new TV series today, revealing that Marc Guggenheim will write thepilot scriptwhile McG will direct the pilot episode. Both will executive produce alongside James Cameron and Lightstorm’s Rae Sanchini and Mary Viola. This report reveals that McG has been trying to get aTrue Liesseries off the ground since last season, but there was previously a much earlier incarnation that was set up at ABC, but never moved forward.
We reported way back in 2010 that WWE Superstar and actor John Cena was being eyed to star in theTrue Lies TV series, but that never came to fruition. James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment was involved in that project as well, with Rene Echevarria (The 4400) tapped to write the pilot script. Now the project is back at 20th Century Fox Television, which is fitting since its parent company 20th Century Fox distributed the original film back in 1994, and McG is under an overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. McG is said to make this project his primary focus after recently parting ways on Fox’s9-1-1from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck, which he was supposed to executive produce and direct before leaving due to creative differences.
The originalTrue Liesmovie starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Tasker, a seemingly normal family man with a wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) and daughter (Eliza Dushku), but in reality he’s a highly-trained spy working for a secret government organization with his partner Albert Gibson (Tom Arnold). The plot thickens when Harry suspects his wife might be cheating on her, while, at the same time, a network of terrorists manage to smuggle nuclear weapons into the United States. The all-star cast also included Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Art Malik, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. The film grossed an impressive $146.2 million domestic, the third highest-grossing movie in 1994, behindForrest GumpandThe Lion King.
While no details were given about the story, it seems unlikely thatArnold Schwarzeneggeror any of the other cast members will be brought back for this show, even if it is a continuation of the movie, and not a straight-up reboot. It isn’t clear at this time if Fox is eyeing a certain frame to debut this new series, although it still technically does have to earn a series order. Still, with a put pilot commitment in place, it seems all but likely that aTrue Liesseries will be coming to the small screen in the near future.
