There are surprise franchises and surprise franchises, and then there's The Boondock Saints. The 1999 vigilante action comedy that nobody initially saw became a cult hit on video. Then there was a straight-to-DVD sequel in 2009, and now Boondocks mastermind Troy Duffy is taking his franchise to TV. He's prepping a prequel series for IM Global TV, and will also direct the pilot.
The original film saw Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery as Irish-American brothers taking on the Russian mob. Willem Dafoe played a weird FBI agent, and Billy Connolly was the berserk Il Duce: an assassin with a coat full of arsenal. Reedus, Flanery and Connolly all returned for the Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, and were joined by Peter Fonda.
Reedus and Flanery are both in talks to be executive producers on the TV iteration, although it's unclear at this point if they'll also appear.
“For years I’ve been obsessed with telling a real origin story with Boondock," says Duffy, "and IM Global TV has stepped up. Television is the perfect medium to explore these controversial characters on a much deeper level and to bring Boondock Saints to a whole new audience.”
“Since its initial release more than 15 years ago, The Boondock Saints has become a true cultural phenomenon,” says IM Global president Mark Stern. “Troy is a consummate storyteller with a compelling vision for a series; the minute we heard it, we were hooked.”