William Peterson who played Gil Grissom in the first nine seasons of the hit procedural police show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has confirmed that a film version of the show is in production.
Speaking to The Radio Times, the star (who also produces the show) said that the film would probably happen sooner rather than later and that the film would need a solid story – so that it wasn’t just a case of “making it for the money.”
The star also indicated that he would also return to his signature role for the film even though in the series his character was recently replaced by Laurence Fishburne in the smash hit show.
Speaking to the BBC publication, Peterson said that he understood that fans of the series would be worried that a film version might ruin their enjoyment of the show:
“I can understand people are a little trepidatious because of the franchise around the world and how well it’s doing. Usually people leave it till a series has finished – they did that with The X-Files and Sex And The City. But it’s about finding the right story.”
He went on to say that a story for the film was key:
“There has got to be a real reason to do it. You don’t just do it because you want to make money; you do it because there’s a story that can’t be told on TV and needs to be told from CSI’s perspective and the audience wants it.”
Peterson went on to say that a film version of CSI would hit screens before the series came to an end – or before he got too old:
“And we can’t wait for CSI to end or Grissom will be about 90.”
The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced CSI series has been a huge success around the world leading to two spin-off series’ – CSI: Miami (with David Caruso) and CSI: New York (with Gary Sinise).
What a film version of the show would entail would be anybodies guess – would it involve the stars of all three shows teaming up to solve a crime in an international location? An exotic locale would appear to have the kind of budget limitations that keep the show US-based (a London spin-off was even in planning at one point).
With Peterson indicating that he would appear in the film, it would imply that the current crop of TV stars would be featured in the film rather than recasting. Having said that, the brand is interchangeable enough that anybody could star in a film version.
Before Fishburne was given the role of Dr Raymond Langston (Peterson’s replacement), Michael Keaton and Kurt Russell were considered for the role – could a movie version lead to one of these actors snapping on the latex?
Whatever happens you can be sure to find the news about CSI: The Movie on Screen Rant.
