'Knight Rider' Digital Series Reboot Coming From 'Fast And Furious' Director Justin Lin

Justin Lin, the king of car-based franchises, is adding yet another one to his to-do list. Lin is teaming with NBCUniversal and Machinima for a digital series reboot of Knight Rider, the 1980s NBC series that starred David Hasselhoff as a human crime-fighter whose partner is a sentient car named KITT.

Machinima, NBCUniversal, and Lin's YOMYOMF announced the Knight Rider digital series reboot via press release today. Lin will produce the show, which is on track to premiere in 2017. No casting or other talents have been announced at this point. Said Machinimia CEO Chad Gustein:

Knight Rider is an iconic franchise whose concepts of AI and autonomous vehicles were science fiction in the 1980s and are now science fact. Justin is one of the leading storytellers of his generation and we couldn't be more excited to work with him on re-invigorating Knight Rider for a new generation of fans.

The original Knight Rider ran for four seasons from 1982 through 1986, but it's lingered in pop culture much, much longer than that. It's given way to several spinoffs, sequels, and adaptations, including a 1991 TV movie sequel, a 1994 made-for-TV movie, and a 1997 TV spinoff that lasted just one season. More recent efforts include a 2008 TV series, which also got axed after just one season. Over the past several years there have also been several attempts to relaunch Knight Rider as a feature film franchise, but with little success so far.

Lin is coming off of Star Trek Beyond, but he is probably most famous for his work on the Fast and the Furious film series. Under his guidance, the once-flagging franchise turned into a billion-dollar juggernaut. He also recently signed on to direct Hot Wheels, based on the popular toy line from Mattel.

Read the full press release below.

YOMYOMF, JUSTIN LIN, MACHINIMA AND NBCUNIVERSAL PARTNER TO PRODUCE DIGITAL SERIES REBOOT OF THE BELOVED 80'S NBC TELEVISION SERIES KNIGHT RIDERLos Angeles, CA – October XX, 2016 – Machinima, the first global many2many programming service focusing on fandom and gamer culture, announced today that it has partnered with YOMYOMF, Justin Lin and NBCUniversal Brand Development to produce a digital reboot of the 80's NBC television series Knight Rider. YOMYOMF and Lin will produce the new digital series that is in active development for a potential 2017 launch date.This deal is another example of Machinima working with elite talent inside and outside of its network to deliver high-profile, live-action series to its extensive worldwide audience. The announcement was made by Machinima CEO Chad Gutstein."Knight Rider is an iconic franchise whose concepts of AI and autonomous vehicles were science fiction in the 1980s and are now science fact," said Gutstein. "Justin is one of the leading storytellers of his generation and we couldn't be more excited to work with him on re-invigorating Knight Rider for a new generation of fans."The series is the latest in a long list of long form, live action series based on the world's most popular television series and video game franchises that Machinima has produced, some of which are among the most watched online programs in history. It will join the likes of Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, Mortal Kombat: Legacy and Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2, Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist and Street Fighter: Resurrection, and Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Combined, those series have garnered more than 300 million views on Machinima.