Paramount has decided to revamp the Naked Gun franchise for some reason, and Ed Helms has signed on to star as Detective Frank Drebin, the lead role Leslie Nielsen made famous in the late eighties and early nineties. According to Variety, the studio has also brought in the writing team of Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant to pen the screenplay “as a new spin on the Drebin character,†which sounds like possible plans for more sequels with Helms. It’s a strange move considering how well Nielsen – who passed away only three years ago – made the role his own, but maybe Helms will somehow prove that this idea isn’t as iffy as it sounds.
Ed Helms was previously attached to star in another high-profile ‘80s reboot: a new version of National Lampoon’s Vacation that was supposed to shoot this summer but was delayed indefinitely due to creative differences.