'Fletch' Reboot From 'Superbad' Director Greg Mottola Will Star Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm is stepping into the shoes of Chevy Chase for a Fletch reboot. Hamm will star in a modernized take on the character, created first in novels by Gregory Mcdonald, and made even more famous by two films starring Chase. For a long period of time, Kevin Smith was trying to mount a remake starring Jason Lee. Later, Smith was replaced with Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence. Now, Superbad helmer Greg Mottola will helm the project.

Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch was so popular he ended up writing 11 total Fletch books, some prequels, some sequels, all featuring reporter Irwin Maurice Fletcher. Mcdonald's first Fletch book was adapted into a 1985 comedy starring Chevy Chase, where Chase's  Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is offered a large sum of money to murder a millionaire. The twist: the millionaire is the one who hires him. Fletch was followed by a sequel, Fletch Lives, released in 1989. Here's a trailer for the original film.

Since then, there have been vague plans for more Fletch movies, but none of them ever got very far. Now, here we go again. The Wrap says Jon Hamm is set to star in and produce a new Fletch reboot for director Greg Mottola at Miramax. While Chase's Fletch films leaned more into comedy, the books weren't as comedic, and it sounds like this new take is going to try be more of a film noir with occasionally comedic elements rather than a straightforward comedy. It'll also adapt the second book in the series, Confess, Fletch. Here's a synopsis:

In a mysterious chain of wild events, Fletch finds himself in the middle of multiple murders – one of which pins him as a prime suspect. While on a quest to prove his innocence, Fletch is tasked with finding his fiancée's stolen art collection, the only inheritance she's acquired after her father goes missing and is presumed dead.

Regarding the new take on Fletch, Miramax CEO Bill Block said: "Fletch's duration over audiences-whether told on paper or the big screen- entertains all and we could not be more thrilled to see what twenty-first-century twist these artists create."

Here I will confess that I've never gotten around to seeing either of the Fletch films. That said, I like Hamm and I continue to find it weird that such a great actor has had such a spotty film career. He deserves better, damn it! Will Fletch be the film he's been looking for? I guess we'll see.