Is There Really A Jericho Movie In Development?

Aug 8, 2009 by Bruce Simmons

Is a movie on the horizon for Jericho?

Every time someone who starred in Jericho makes a public appearance, it’s inevitable that they get asked if they’re up for more Jericho, and in particular, a Jericho movie.

Sure, we’d love to see an actual project that is given its full due. After canceling the 2006 season show, CBS relented to a second season from fan pressure but barely gave it the attention it was due – It popped out a whole 7 episodes and was canceled again. Sometimes, a show may be a major fan favorite, but the impassioned fans are not as numerous as they need to be.

Some time ago, rumors started floating around that there might be a Jericho movie in the works.

In January of ’09, executive producer Jon Turteltaub said they were “developing” a Jericho feature and that it would cover a broader scope of events – beyond the town of Jericho itself. He further teased us with the statement that the TV cast would return, but back then I was skeptical about the idea for many reasons.

More recently, a few ex-cast members were asked about their hopes for a Jericho movie.

Some still insist that producers are still developing a two-hour movie. This is now an 8 month old statement as far as I’m concerned. But Lennie James (who played Robert Hawkins), while promoting The Prisoner, pretty much said that producers are trying to come up with a story worth telling and that people are still interested.

Of course Hawkins would be excited to play the role of Hawkins again.

Even at Comic-Con in San Diego, Esai Morales said he’d love to participate in a movie if one is in the works and recapture the essence of Major Beck.

At one point in a Comic-Con panel, producers Jon Steinberg and Karim Zreik said that the ratings on the CW would help garner interest in the idea of a movie. That’s a shame, since the CW barely even acknowledged that they were playing repeats on Sunday nights and the ratings reflected that. At one point, I was wondering if the ratings were going to be negative, with more people airing the show than were watching it!

But if you really need to get your fill of Jericho, there is one avenue of entertainment you can pursue: Comic books.

Jericho Season 3 comic book

It’s called “Season 3 of Jericho” and is being published by Devil’s Due Publishing. They’re creating a direct continuation of the show and it’s being written by Jericho writing alumni Jon Steinberg, Karim Zreik, Dan Shotz, and Robert Levine.

As we know, at the end of season 2, society was looking at a civil war and they’ve embraced that premise in the comic book. It was also noted that without budget constraints, they can show more tanks and more action in a single comic panel than they ever could in an action sequence of the television show. Cool! The story will be told in a six issue series, starting in October and it will star all the original characters we know and love from the series.

The original cast all signed off on having the likeness of their images used for the comic so it will be easy to get back into their individual scenarios.

So for now, the idea of a Jericho movie seems to be only a room full of vapors that’s waiting to take some sort of shape. I’d love to see this, but am I just deluding myself? Are you, the Screen Rant readers, being more realistic about the chances of a movie coming together? Would all the cast actually be available if this were to come together? I don’t know. Very fortuitous timing on everything involved could make this possible, but for now, a comic book is all we get.

Screen Rant reader thoughts and opinions are always welcome. Let us know how you all feel.

Sources: Sci Fi Wire, CBR

Tags: jericho