Vin Diesel (Fast and Furious) is set to develop a love for lollipops as he is gearing up to step into the shoes of Kojak, the lollipop loving NYPD detective in a big screen remake of the hit 70s crime TV show. According to Deadline, Skyfall screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have been drafted in to write to screenplay. Kojak is based on the hit TV show which ran from 1973-78 and starred Telly Savalas as Theo Kojak, who was infamous for his love of lollipops and the catchphrase, “Who loves ya baby?”
This isn’t the first time that Kojak has received a makeover, with Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) starring as the tough talking, bald-headed crime fighter in a short lived television reboot in 2005 which only lasted a single season. Riding high from the success of Skyfall, Purvis and Wade will be tasked with updating the classic 70s show for a modern audience. With three other Bond films under their belt in Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, it seems Kojak will be in very capable hands.
Diesel is set to double down by not only starring but also producing the big screen adaptation alongside Samantha Vincent (Riddick) for their Universal based One Race Films.
Originally published December 18, 2012. Updated April 10, 2018.
