It’s been a long time coming, but it seems like Vin Diesel’s Kojak movie is still in the works. In 2012, Deadline reported that Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were tapped to write the script for the film, centered around the tough and incorruptible Lieutenant Theodopolus “Theo” Kojak, a reimagining of the ’70s CBS crime drama. The Fast & Furious actor was set to portray the titular cop and produce alongside Samantha Vincent for their One Race Films. Three years later, Variety reported that playwright Philip Gawthorne would be taking over as writer.
Since then, there hadn’t been many details about the movie, and it was unclear whether it was even still happening. Fans won’t have to worry any longer, as Diesel posted an Instagram video from the Universal Studios backlot. While he didn’t give too much away, he did say that the script for Kojak is “the best script.” So it sounds like there is still much to look forward to with the film, and he is as excited as ever to get to work on it. If work needs to be done, that is. The film has long been in production, but it’s possible it took a few scripts to get out all the kinks.
With the script set in stone, hopefully, it won’t be long until the ball gets rolling on production. It’s already been 12 years since the film was initially announced, meaning that at this point, Universal doesn’t seem to be rushing anything, which could be a good or bad thing. However, Kojak definitely wouldn’t be the first movie to take a long time to be released, so it’s only just a matter of time before it sees the light of day.
Why it’s taken so long for Kojak to release is unknown, but it’s nice to get at least a little bit of an update after all these years and know that it is still happening, even if it’s still years from now. There’s no telling when and if Kojak will be coming out, but fingers crossed Universal drops more details soon. Vin Diesel has been awfully busy as of late with numerous movies in the works, including yet another Fast & Furious movie, so it’s possible that could be the cause for the long delay, or at least part of the cause. The wait will be worth it when Kojak does finally release, but fans will have to remain patient for now.