The idea of making a new Cannonball Run film is one that has been slowly revving its engine in Hollywood for a few years now; at least as far back as 2011. Warner Bros. grabbed the rights last year and is now in the process of making deals with director Rawson Thurber and writers Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant for a relaunch.
Hinging on the concept of a mad cross-country car race, Cannonball Run films (which screeched into cinemas in 1981, 1984 and 1989 from a variety of studios) featured sprawling casts of actors, but were primarily driven – for the first two, at least – by Burt Reynolds' cocky J.J. McClure and Dom DeLuise's luckless Victor Prinzim. Based on real-life races, the films found the competitors trying anything to win.
While Guy Ritchie's name was bandied about in the early days of the new version, Warners had Etan Cohen aboard to write and direct, but is now targeting Central Intelligence's Thurber and the men who have written, among other things, the first two Night At The Museum entries. We'll see if this one properly gets into gear with the current team still attached, and what shape the final movie takes.
Thurber is preparing to make Skyscraper with his Intelligence star Dwayne Johnson, which will be out next year.