Vin Diesel Signs On To Play Kojak In New Movie

Vin Diesel has signed on to play everyone’s favorite bald detective in the big-screen adaptation of the 70s television series Kojak, according to Vulture.

The star of the Fast and the Furious franchise has agreed to tackle the role in Skyfall writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade’s version of the story. Telly Savalas, an actor who shared Diesel’s love of a freshly shorn scalp, famously portrayed the detective in the original television series.

As the AV Club points out, Kojak isn’t a property most younger moviegoers are going to immediately race to the theaters to see on opening day. In an effort to make this story much more appealing to the kids, the writers will no doubt update the detective to appeal to a whole new generation.

As someone who grew up watching reruns of Kojak on TV, I think Diesel is the perfect fit for the role. If the studio is looking to reintroduce the character as some sort of wise-cracking action hero with a penchant for lollipops, then Vin is most certainly the right man for the job.

Unfortunately, there’s not very much information to go on as of this writing. Outside of Diesel’s supposed involvement in the flick, Universal Pictures is keeping details about the flick under lock and key.

According to Internet Movie Database, Vin Diesel has been extremely busy filming sequels to a number of his iconic films. In addition to crafting Riddick and Fast and the Furious 6, the actor is also attached to Rob Cohen’s xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.

Diesel is also slated to appear to Peter Segal’s The Machine, a story about a kid who accidentally reactivates a cybernetic soldier decommissioned by the government years ago. The script was written by Reno 911 and Night at the Museum scribe Robert Ben Garant.

Are you a fan of Vin Diesel? Do you think he’s the right person to play Kojak?