Universal Pictures is Moving Forward With a New FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Movie

Universal Pictures is developing a new reimagining of Friday Night Lights and they hired John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle (Waco) to polish up the script, which was previously worked on by David Gordon Green and Josh Parkinson. John Erick Dowdle, who also helmed Devil and Waco is attached to direct the film.

According to Variety, the movie is not a sequel to the original 2004 film. It’s also not based on NBC’s hit TV series. This will just be a new take on H.G. Bissinger’s non-fiction book about the 1988 Permian High School Panthers as the new Texas football team makes a run toward the state championship.

The first movie was great, and I loved the TV series. I don’t really see the need for another reimaging of the same story, but this is Hollywood and they don’t have any original ideas, so I guess another reimaging of Friday Night Lights was bound to happen.

Over the years, Universal has toyed with the idea of a sequel to Peter Berg’s film with Billy Bob Thornton and they’ve also thoughts about a sequel film based on the TV series with Kyle Chandler. Instead, the studio decided to pursue a story with “a completely different setting and cast of characters, while still following the world of high school football in Texas and the impact it has on the community.”

What do you all think about the Friday Night Lights story being retold all over again?