Though it was pondered around the same time that fellow cult shows Starsky & Hutch and The Dukes Of Hazzard were being transferred from the telly vaults to big-screen comedy versions, highway patrol series **CHiPs **never quite made it down that road. Warner Bros. is hoping Dax Shepard is the man to help it happen, hiring him to write, direct and star in an adaption of the cop series.
In addition to writing the script and calling the shots, Shepard will star as Officer Jon Baker (originally played by Larry Wilcox), who along with partner Frank “Ponch” Poncherrello kept the highways of California free of crime and other problems with their rumbling motorcycles and groin-crippling khaki uniforms between 1977 and 1983.
While Erik Estrada is the man most recognizably identified as Ponch (and we’d bet good money on him showing up in some cameo capacity), Michael Peña is taking on the role for the film. Incidentally, Shepard is a keen, professional-level race driver, so we won’t be too surprised if he ends up attempting some of his own stunts. Is it wrong that we're also hoping that his missus, Kristen Bell, makes time for a role?
This will mark Shepard's third stint directing, following 2010’s Brother’s Justice and 2012’s** Hit And Run**, which he starred in and co-directed with David Palmer.