A movie based on CHiPs, the "classic" cop show from the '70s and '80s, has been in the works for years without anyone ever getting it off the ground. Movies based on TV shows have mostly had a rough go of it but after the success of 21 Jump Street all bets are off. And now Warner Bros. is moving on a CHiPs movie again, handing the reins over to Dax Shepard to bring it to theaters.
Shepard, who last co-directed the chase action-comedy Hit and Run, will write, direct, and star in CHiPs. More promising is word that Michael Pena (End of Watch, Cesar Chavez) is on board to play Ponch, the role made famous by Erik Estrada and has since become the butt of jokes. Shepard will take on the part of Ponch's partner, Officer Jon Baker (played by Larry Wilcox on the show), the cop duo always patrolling the California highways on their motorcycles looking for troublemakers.
This version of CHiPs isn't expected to be a comedy remake, though. The tone is drawing comparisons to buddy cop movies like Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon, naturally. [Deadline]
