The creative minds behind Netflix’s Cobra Kai are setting their sights on another ‘80s classic. After turning The Karate Kid into a new pop-culture phenomenon, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald are now preparing to bring Knight Rider to the big screen for Universal Pictures.
Industry reports confirm the trio will not only write and produce the feature, but that Hurwitz and Schlossberg are expected to step behind the camera as directors. Their reputation as revival specialists was cemented with Cobra Kai, the Netflix hit that picked up the story of karate rivals Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio, Karate Kid: Legends) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka, Hot Tub Time Machine). With six seasons now complete, the team has already lined up additional nostalgia-fueled projects, including a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off spin-off following the infamous valet drivers and a new interpretation of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.
The project also enlisted seasoned action filmmaker David Leitch as producer. Leitch, known for translating beloved properties into modern blockbusters, recently turned another ‘80s TV staple, The Fall Guy (2024), into a feature, making him a natural fit to guide Knight Rider’s return.
Originally created by Glen A. Larson in 1982, Knight Rider became one of NBC’s most distinctive dramas of the decade. The show introduced audiences to police officer Michael Long (David Hasselhoff, Baywatch), who, after a near-fatal encounter, is saved by the high-tech Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG). Reborn as Michael Knight through reconstructive surgery, he is partnered with KITT, a Pontiac Trans Am equipped with sophisticated weaponry and voiced by William Daniels (Boy Meets World). Together, Knight and KITT cruised across America, foiling villains from corrupt masterminds to Knight’s sinister double, Garthe (also played by Hasselhoff), while facing KITT’s menacing counterpart KARR, voiced by Peter Cullen (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts).
The original series spanned four seasons between 1982 and 1986 before being cancelled. Nevertheless, its cult following inspired multiple revivals from the TV movie Knight Rider 2000 (1991) to the loosely related Knight Rider 2010 (1994), the ensemble-driven Team Knight Rider (1997), and NBC’s 2008 reboot with Justin Bruening (Sweet Magnolias) as Michael Knight’s son and Val Kilmer (Top Gun: Maverick) as the voice of a new KITT.
With Universal backing and the Cobra Kai creators at the wheel, the legendary partnership between man and machine looks primed to accelerate into a new era.
Conversation with Ting Wei is like chatting with a weird AI bot programmed only with One Piece lore and theories, sitcom quotes and other miscellaneous pop culture references. When he’s not sleeping, he’s highly likely reading manga. In fact, the only thing he reads more than manga is the Bible, and it’s honestly pretty close.
Kevin Low
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