Now here’s an odd pairing that somehow makes a lot of sense. The TV series Columbo ran sporadically for a period between 1968 and 2003, amounting to a number of mystery specials that were lead by Peter Falk as the titular disheveled yet highly gifted detective. The mystery series was beloved for its affable lead and engaging whodunits, and now it may be resurrected with a rather curious choice to take over for Falk: Mark Ruffalo. Screenwriter Gary Whitta, who is currently working on an unspecified Star Wars spinoff, got to joking on Twitter yesterday about the prospect of Ruffalo leading a rebooted Columbo. Much to everyone’s surprise, Ruffalo responded and revealed that he’s actually be approached about starring in a genuine Columbo movie. More after the jump.
[Update: Unfortunately, Ruffalo has now learned that Universal owns the rights to Columbo. More below.]
The Twitter exchange that lead to this fun bit of news went as follows:
Oh hey, @MarkRuffalo and I are both repped by UTA. Which means I’m about 0.00001% closer to getting this done. #Columbo
— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) July 16, 2014
@MysteryExec @garywhitta Ed Soloman approached me on this about a month ago. We are thinking a movie.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) July 16, 2014
And here's the update from Ruffalo saying this iteration of the project is unlikely to move forward. Our original story follows below.
@garywhitta It seems Universal has it and is already developing a TV show. Boo hoo.— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) July 16, 2014
Ruffalo kind of makes perfect sense as a rebooted Columbo, doesn’t he? The guy is unbelievably talented, but he’s also incredibly genial. He already played a slightly eccentric detective in David Fincher’s masterful Zodiac, and one imagines he’d be a fun fit for a Columbo movie.
Ed Solomon is a screenwriter and producer responsible for penning the scripts for Charlie’s Angels and Now You See Me, but it’s unclear what his exact role would be in this new Columbo feature. Of course, all of this is preliminary and there doesn’t appear to be a Columbo movie in active development, but it’s neat to hear that the possibility has been seriously discussed.
Until we get more concrete info, we can look forward to next seeing Ruffalo reprise his role as Bruce Banner/Hulk in the Marvel sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron, which opens in theaters on May 1, 2015.
