A big screen adaptation of the much loved 70’s cop-buddy TV show CHiPs has been rumoured for a while now and star Michael Peña has officially confirmed that the movie has finally got the green light.

Whilst promoting Ant-Man Peña revealed in an interview with Collider that he got green light confirmation about two or three weeks ago and the studio are pushing for an R-rating. In the same interview Peña went on to reveal that the movie version would be less comedy and more action and even compared it to Lethal Weapon:

“It’s more like a Lethal Weapon where there’s a lot of action and what we wanted to do is if there’s any comedy that we do, it’s not like one-liners here and there, like we’re the guys always being stand-up comedians. It’s almost like you lose a little bit of the plotline whenever you’re off doing your own comedy thing, so we’re focusing a little more on the plot, if that makes any sense whatsoever.”

Michael Peña will star as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello, one half of esteemed California Highway Patrol motorcycle duo alongside Don Baker, who will be played by Dax Shepard (When In Rome). Shepard is also writing and directing and according to Peña Shepard’s wife Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) might also be joining the cast soon. Another confirmed cast member is Vincent D’Onofrio (Jurassic World).

Peña has started preparing for the role already by taking motorcycle lessons and admitted that he’s finding it hard getting back in shape:

“I had to start learning how to ride a motorcycle, rehearsing, and then working out. I’ve been throwing up like every day after workouts.”

CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from 1977 to 1983 and followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol. The series ran for 139 episodes over six seasons and one reunion TV movie in 1998.

Gavin Logan