The classic 1980s cartoon Inspector Gadget will once again get the big screen treatment. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Disney is currently developing a new live-action film from producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who most recently produced the live-action Aladdin remake, with a script written by Saturday Night Live‘s Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell.
Inspector Gadget was an American-Canadian co-production cartoon that followed Inspector Gadget, a bionic cyborg modelled after The Pink Panther’s Inspector Clouseau, with an array of hundreds of useful gadgets built into his body. However, he was very clumsy and could never control his gadgets completely and it was usually his niece Penny and dog Brain who solved most of the cases with Gadget inadvertently saving the day. Together, they fought the villainous Dr. Claw and his evil organization M.A.D. and foiled their crimes.
Inspector Gadget first aired in 1983 and has had several other cartoons and spin-offs since. The first time a live-action film was made was in 1999 with Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) as Inspector Gadget with Michelle Tratchenberg (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) as Penny. A direct-to-video sequel was made later with French Stewart (#rd Rock from the Sun) taking on the role as Gadget.
In addition to the new Inspector Gadget film, Day and Seidell are also writing a reboot of Home Alone for Disney+.