The film remains a classic car chase adventure from 1977 but is a Smokey And The Bandit remake being planned? Burt Reynolds started his career on TV shows like Gunsmoke and forgotten b-movies such as Operation C.I.A., but he really broke through with 1972's Deliverance. He quickly became one of the biggest box-offices draws of the next decade, delivering a solid run like The Longest Yard and The Cannonball Run. One of Reynolds' biggest hits came with 1977's Smokey And The Bandit, where he played the title Bandit, a bootlegger on the run from dogged Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason); the Bandit also meets and falls for Sally Field's Carrie along the way.
Smokey And The Bandit was a gigantic hit, grossing over $300 million and only being outperformed by Star Wars in the same year. The cast and director Hal Needham returned for 1980's Smokey And The Bandit II, which grossed less than a third of the original, but was still a success. Reynolds passed on Smokey And The Bandits III, which was originally called Smokey IS The Bandit and had Gleason playing both the sheriff and Bandit roles. Confused test audiences led to the movie being largely reshot, with Jerry Reed from the first two movies taking over the Bandit part instead; Reynolds also made a tiny cameo at the end.
The third movie was a massive failure, effectively killing the Smokey And The Bandit series. Hal Needham later returned to direct a series of spinoff TV movies in the 1990s that cast Brian Bloom (Kane & Lynch) as the young Bandit, but are there plans for a Smokey And The Bandit remake?
Peyton Reed Was Attached To A "Loose" Smokey And The Bandit Remake
Way back in 2000 it was announced that Peyton Reed (Ant-Man) would direct East Bound And Down, which was billed as a loose remake of Smokey And The Bandit. Reed later opened up on his plans for a modern take, revealing Owen Wilson was attached and that it featured a character who felt like he was the badass Bandit, but nobody else sees him that way. Nothing was heard about this project in the years that followed, while Reed moved on to romantic comedy Down With Love.
Burt Reynolds' Recommended George Clooney For A Smokey Remake
In a 2017 Yahoo interview, Burt Reynolds was asked his thoughts on a Smokey And The Bandit recasting, with the veteran actor giving George Clooney his blessing. That said, he also doubted the star would actually do it and while Clooney has starred in lighter fare such as Ocean's Eleven, he tends to focus on more dramatic material these days.
A Smokey And The Bandit Remake Isn't Happening
While the original Smokey And The Bandit is still fondly remembered, there don't appear to have been any serious plans to revive it. With car chase movies dominated by the likes of the Fast And Furious series, a Smokey reboot would have to up its game to reach modern audiences. The series also relied on the irreplaceable charisma of Burt Reynolds, so maybe the lack of a modern version is for the best.