While the original was poised to launch a new franchise, here’s why they didn’t make another A-Team movie. The A-Team is a classic action series from the 1980s that starred George Peppard, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz, and Mr. T as an elite Special Forces unit. The four are framed for a crime they didn’t commit and go on the run, and each episode found them helping out people in need against various criminals and villains. The A-Team was famous for its catchphrases, action sequences, gadgets, and the fact that in spite of constant gunfire and explosions, it had little in the way of fatalities.
The A-Team came to an end after five seasons and ranks alongside the likes of Miami Vice as an iconic 1980s TV show. Like other bombed 80s movie remakes, the A-Team movie spent years in development hell, with director John Singleton once signed on, who had Woody Harrelson in mind for Murdock and Ice Cube for B.A. Baracus. Joe Carnahan eventually stepped behind the camera, with Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, and Sharlto Copley playing Hannibal, Face, B.A., and Murdock respectively. The A-Team was released in 2010 to a mildly positive response, with the consensus being that it was a fun but forgettable blockbuster.
The film adaptation of The A-Team was meant to kick off a series. However, a variety of reasons prevented that from happening. Here’s why The A-Team 2 wound up canceled.
The A-Team Movie Underperformed
Despite its name cast and blockbuster status, The A-Team didn’t do great numbers. The budget was an estimated $110 million but it made less than $80 million domestically. Factoring in home video sales and international box office, The A-Team made roughly $220 million in total, but considering marketing and other costs, it was a definitive financial disappointment.
The Cast And Director Quickly Ruled Out An A-Team 2
The crew behind The A-Team movie wasted no time pretending The A-Team 2 was still coming after its release. Joe Carnahan stated that the movie didn’t make enough to justify another, which Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson would mirror in later interviews. Little is known about the plot for a potential sequel, other than the original A-Team movie ending with a tease that Jon Hamm’s Agent Lynch would be a major threat.
An A-Team TV Reboot Was Announced In 2015
While there’s been no sign of life on a new movie, in 2015 Deadline reported The A-Team was being rebooted for a new TV show. Fast & Furious franchise writer Chris Morgan was set to produce this new version, which would have featured some female members on the team as they actively tried to clear their names and uncover a conspiracy. Like The A-Team 2, however, this TV reboot never came to pass.
A-Team Is Far From The Only Underwhelming 80s Remake
The A-Team was one of many 80s remake attempts to bomb in the early 21st century. Comeback projects like this generate plenty of initial nostalgic buzz but often fail to live up to their original source material. Horror films like Poltergeist, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, The Thing, and Evil Dead are all iconic, beloved 80s classics, but all of them were the unwitting victims of distinctly underwhelming remakes in the 2010s/2020s. Likewise, action flicks like The Karate Kid, Total Recall, and Clash of the Titans have failed to perform on the same level as their originals. Reboots and revivals continue to be a prevalent way of making “new” content, however, so The A-Team is unlikely to be the last underwhelming 80s remake. While Joe Carnahan’s movie has its fans, The A-Team 2 is very unlikely to be revived at this point.
