Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Director Will Bring A Classic TV Show To The Big Screen

How many of us thought the guy who made the indie darling "Short Term 12" would one day go on to become one of the busiest and most in-demand blockbuster directors around? Destin Daniel Cretton may still be enjoying his victory lap following the record-breaking box office success of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," but the talented filmmaker is currently lining up his next several projects. It's already been announced that he'll be helming a live-action "Naruto" adaptation, while it's all but certain that Marvel and Sony will line up several bulldozers worth of money to get him to helm their next "Spider-Man" sequel. But this latest development indicates that Cretton is setting his sights even higher: a film based on the hit 1960s television series "Hawaii Five-O."

The news comes straight from Deadline, which indicates that Cretton will be joined by some seriously capable writers. In addition to the director, this project will be written by Chris Bremner ("Bad Boys for Life" and "Bad Boys: Ride or Die") and Noah Oppenheim ("Jackie"). This package has been put together by Paramount Pictures, the studio that houses the original CBS show along with the long-running "Hawaii Five-O" remake series that was canceled in 2020. The estate of the original show's creator, Leonard Freeman, will also be involved as a producer on the movie.

For our younger readers, "Hawaii Five-O" was basically catnip for Boomers. Set in gorgeous Honolulu and starring the likes of Jack Lord and James MacArthur, the crime procedural helped set the template for what would go on to become an immensely successful formula: beautiful people stopping crimes, tossing out snappy one-liners, and looking fabulously stylish as they do so. Even beyond the nostalgia play of it all, the appeal of a big screen adaptation feels fairly obvious!

Destin Daniel Cretton remains a very busy man, and rightfully so. As he now adds this "Hawaii Five-O" movie to his schedule, and we await news on the stars who will inevitably turn out in droves to audition for some highly-coveted roles, fans may end up wondering how this could end up affecting some of the other significant productions that the director has been connected to in the past. In short, what's good news for fans of "Hawaii Five-O," "Naruto," and Cretton himself could wind up being a less-than-ideal update for Marvel obsessives.

Could Cretton's ever-busy dance card lead to a setback for titles like the next "Spider-Man" movie or the perpetually-delayed sequel to "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings?" One point against this possibility is the fact that Marvel (and Sony) appear to be in no rush to, well, rush the next Peter Parker installment. Much of the success of "Brand New Day" likely comes down to the lengthy downtime between that and "No Way Home," which is a recipe for success that even these major studios won't want to mess with anytime soon. As for "Shang-Chi 2," there has been little indication that a follow-up film to the 2021 movie has been in the cards, anyway. Cretton has recently remarked that the sequel is "in active development" (according to ScreenRant), but we're firmly in "We'll believe it when we see it" territory here.

Of course, Cretton could choose to part ways with either or both productions to focus on his next confirmed films instead. At this point, it remains to be seen how "Hawaii Five-O" might affect his future workload. Stay tuned to /Film for updates as they come in.