Ten years ago the biggest trend in Hollywood seemed to be movie remakes of classic TV shows. 

Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice, The A-Team are just a few of many classic TV shows that were all given the A list Hollywood makeover treatment. Nowadays though that trend has been flipped on its head with TV remakes of Limitless, Minority Report and Uncle Buck all either premiering this season or in development. Perhaps the highest profile remake of all though has just taken a massive step forward with the news that Fox have ordered a pilot for a Lethal Weapon TV series. 

The plot of the TV series has been updated from the movie with Riggs now a Texas cop and former Navy SEAL (rather than a Vietnam) who moves to LA after the death of his wife and child. There he's partnered with LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh who must take things easy after recently suffering a 'minor' heart attack. 

While the role of Martin Riggs has yet to be cast, Fox have already found their Murtaugh in the form of Damon Wayans Sr. 

Wayans can play a grumpy ageing cop with his eyes closed so we think it's great casting on the part of Fox for Murtaugh. But what of his partner against crime? Who could possibly fill Mel Gibson's boots (and mullet)? We've got a couple of people in mind for the job. 

 

1. Jonathan Tucker

Fans of Justified will be well acquainted with Tucker's talents. He made a big impression during his short stint on the show. He's popped up in lots of movie roles over the years but most recently could be seen in the MMA drama series Kingdom. Whether or not he'd have the comedic chops for Riggs remains to be seen but he sure as hell could pull of the loose canon impulsivity.

 

2. Steven Pasquale

Pasquale has been impressing in supporting roles for years now. He was great in Denis Leary's firefighter dramedy Rescue Me, but more recently you might have seen him in the likes of Bloodline and The Good Wife. His performances in Rescue Me more than proved that he could bring the intensity and levity required to breath new life into Martin Riggs. 

 

3. Pedro Pascal

Few characters have made as big an impression in such a short period of time on Game of Thrones as Prince Oberyn Martell. Pedro Pascal was a huge favourite with fans in the half a season he spent on the show. He can be most recently seen on Netflix's Narcos playing undercover DEA agent, Javier Pena. Although a Chile native, Pascal spent a large part of his childhood in San Antonio, Texas so if executives were looking for authenticity they could do a lot worse. More important than his heritage though is the edginess and humour which he could bring to the role of Martin Riggs. 

 

4. Jensen Ackles 

Ackles has been playing wise cracking demon hunter Dean Winchester on Supernatural for eleven seasons now so if you're familiar with him it's most likely that. Though of course he did impress with roles in James Cameron's Dark Angel and Smallville prior to joining the long running series. It wouldn't be a surprise to many if Martin Riggs was a big influence on the Supernatural writers when they were coming up with the character of Dean Winchester. He's edgy, intense and most importantly he's hilarious. So it would be easy to see Ackles take on the role. 

 

5. Eliza Dushku

And why the hell not? If your answer to that question is "because she's a girl" then you really need to take a long hard look at yourself. Dushku has consistently been excellent in everything she's done since she first caught our attention as rogue vampire slayer Faith in Buffy. However it was her lead role in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse that has us really convinced she could take on the role of Martina (or whatever her name would be) Riggs. If television execs can't be gender blind when casting in 2016 then they never will be. 

 

The Wild Card Picks: Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney

Well they've already played the roles in Lethal Weapon 5 and Lethal Weapon 6 (in fact the've both played Riggs AND Murtagh). Fox could do a lot worse than letting these two job share.