‘Hawaii Five-O’ Is Finally Getting the Movie Treatment, and Paramount Found the Perfect Director

Hollywood has spent decades trying and failing to bring ‘Hawaii Five-O’ to the big screen, despite the franchise’s built-in appeal of tropical scenery, a legendary theme song, and one of television’s most enduring crime procedural formats. Attempts to crack a feature adaptation have stalled repeatedly over the years, largely due to complicated rights issues tied to the original series.

That long-running effort finally produced results in a different form back in 2010, when CBS launched a hit reboot series starring Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, and Grace Park that ran for a full decade. A true theatrical version of the property, however, has remained elusive, with earlier movie efforts led by producer George Litto never quite making it past legal roadblocks with CBS.

Now, according to an exclusive report from Deadline, Paramount Pictures is finally putting together a package to bring ‘Hawaii Five-O’ to theaters, with ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ director Destin Daniel Cretton attached to develop and direct the project. Chris Bremner, who previously wrote ‘Bad Boys for Life,’ is set to pen the script, while Noah Oppenheim, known for producing ‘Jackie,’ is attached to produce.

The studio has not yet commented on the project, and Deadline notes the momentum behind the film is only just beginning to build. Still, the pairing of a beloved procedural franchise with a genuinely hot directing talent has industry watchers excited about what a well-executed adaptation could accomplish, both as a standalone feature and as a potential launching pad for a broader franchise.

The original ‘Hawaii Five-O’ aired on CBS from 1968 to 1980, created by Leonard Freeman and starring Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, the no-nonsense head of a state police task force based in Hawaii. The show became one of television’s longest-running police dramas of its era, and its premise, blending crime procedural storytelling with stunning island scenery, has long been viewed as a natural fit for a theatrical treatment.

Cretton’s attachment to the project comes at a particularly strong moment in his career. His work on ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ has helped restore momentum to Sony’s Spider-Man franchise, with the film sitting atop the weekend box office rankings since its July 31 release and closing in on a billion dollars domestically, while pulling in $2.4 billion globally.

That success builds on a directing career that’s steadily grown in scale, following his breakout with ‘Short Term 12’ and ‘The Glass Castle’ before he landed his first major blockbuster with Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.’ According to Deadline, Cretton is widely regarded as one of the hottest directors working in Hollywood right now off the strength of that Spider-Man success.

Despite the demands of a packed schedule, Cretton already has plenty on his plate beyond ‘Hawaii Five-O.’ He’s expected to return for the next installment in the Spider-Man franchise, and he’s also attached to direct an adaptation centered on the popular anime and manga property ‘Naruto.’

Given how many previous attempts to adapt ‘Hawaii Five-O’ for film have collapsed over the years, landing a director with Cretton’s current box office momentum represents a significant step toward finally making this long-gestating project a reality. Whether the film ultimately draws directly from Freeman’s original series or leans into new franchise potential remains to be seen as development continues.

With Paramount just beginning to build momentum behind the project and no official studio comment yet, plenty of details are still to be worked out, but the pairing alone has already generated real excitement among fans of the franchise.

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