Ethan Hawke Could Reprise His Role in New TRAINING DAY TV Series
As you may have already heard, Antoine Fuqua's incredible 2001 film Training Day is set to be adapted into a TV series for CBS. According to Deadline, the series could actually be a sequel to the film and focus on the surviving main characters from the movie, including Ethan Hawke's character Jake Hoyt.
According to the report, producer Jerry Bruckheimer wants to bring Hawke back to reprise his role, and the actor has apparently already been approached by the studio. There's no word on if this is actually going to happen or not, but the two parties are in talks with each other and Hawke has expressed interested in being involved.
If Hawke actually did jump on board the series, it would be for a recurring supporting role. Apparently when the show was in the early stages of development, they wanted Hawke to be the main star. I imagine he wouldn't have the time to commit to a project like that, as he's such a busy guy who always seems to be involved with some kind of film project.
The series is set fifteen years after the events of the movie and it centers on an "idealistic young African-American police officer, Kyle, who is given an assignment by the Deputy Chief to go undercover with an elite squad of the LAPD and take down a morally ambiguous Caucasian detective, gaining the trust of the seasoned cop by becoming his new partner."
The report goes on to say that there were two versions of the pilot script. "In one, the corrupt older detective is Jake Hoyt. It was written to gauge Hawke’s interest in toplining the series." He's not interested in toplining the series, though. The alternative version of the script was the one that got the pilot greenlight. Deadline explains:
"In it, the rogue cop is a new character, Frank, while the Deputy Chief is Hoyt. I hear the way the Deputy Chief character was conceived, it involves more regular presence on the show, so the two sides are currently far apart. But talks continue, and the role is still earmarked for Hawke."
The pilot for the series was written by Will Beall (Gangster Squad) and it will be directed by Fuqua. Hawke has a strong relationship with Fuqua, so there's a good chance that we might actually see him join the show. I hope he does — it would be great to see him reprise his role!