The Longest Yard Remake in Development at Paramount

According to Deadline, another remake of The Longest Yard is in the works at Paramount Pictures. Rodney Barnes, an executive producer and writer on HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, is writing the remake.

Van Toffler of Gunpowder & Sky will produce alongside David Gale. Toffler and Gale executive produced the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard.

What is The Longest Yard About?

Released in 1974, The Longest Yard is a sports comedy about a prison football team. Burt Reynolds starred as Paul “Wrecking” Crewe, a former professional quarterback sentenced to 18 months in prison after a joyride gone wrong. Crewe is recruited by the warden to organize a football team consisting of prisoners to play against the guards.

Robert Aldrich directed The Longest Yard from a screenplay by Tracy Keenan Wynn. The script is based on a story by Albert S. Ruddy, who also produced the film. The Longest Yard grossed $43 million on a less than $3 million budget.

In 2005, MTV Films produced a remake of The Longest Yard. Adam Sandler starred as Crewe, with Reynolds playing Nate Scarborough, the coach of the prisoners’ team, Mean Machine. Chris Rock, Nelly, William Fichtner, Joey Diaz, and James Cromwell also starred.

The Longest Yard grossed $191 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. It became the highest-grossing film by MTV Films at the time.