Preview:
- Miles Teller will star in a new version of ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’.
- The 1982 original was a star-making role for Richard Gere.
- ‘The Lost City’s Dana Fox wrote the script for the new movie.
Miles Teller played a conflicted Navy pilot in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and it sounds like he’s ready to serve once more.
No, Paramount hasn’t given the go signal for a new ‘Top Gun’ sequel (not yet, though one is in development), instead Teller is aboard to tackle a role that gave Richard Gere a boost into movie stardom: he’ll play the lead in a new version of ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’.
What’s the story of ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’?
The 1982 original, directed by Taylor Hackford from a script by Douglas Day Stewart, follows Zack Mayo (Gere), a new member of the U.S. Navy and one with a bad attitude.
Signing up for the Aviation Academy, he endures the strict leadership of Sergeant Emil Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.), who gives Zack a rude awakening in terms of relating to other people.
Through Foley’s guidance –– and an unexpected romance with Paula (Debra Winger), an outsider who hangs around the naval base –– Zack learns some tough lessons and discovers what he truly wants out of life.
A big success at the box office ($129.7 million from a $7.5 million budget), the movie also scored six Oscar nominations, with Gossett Jr. taking home Best Supporting Actor and songwriters Jack Nitzsche, Will Jennings and Buffy Sainte-Marie scoring Best Original Song for ‘Up Where We Belong’, performed by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes. The song itself also became a hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and charts in various countries.
Gere and Winger became stars off the back of their performances and the movie is considered a hallmark romantic drama, famous for its final reunion scene between the two lovers.
Related Article: Miles Teller Starring in ‘The Gorge’ for director Scott Derrickson
Who is working on the new ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’?
Paramount, which produced and distributed the original, is looking to make use of another classic piece of IP for this update.
With production company Temple Hill involved, the new ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ has been in the works for a while, with at least one script draft by ‘Into the Blue’s Matt Johnson and the latest version by ‘Cruella’s Dana Fox.
Where else can we see Miles Teller?
Teller, who won plaudits for movies including ‘Whiplash’ and ‘Maverick’ first broke out big in another remake, the 2011 take on ‘Footloose’.
He has Scott Derrick’s action thriller/sci-fi romance ‘The Gorge’ on the way along with ‘Michael’ the Michael Jackson biopic in which he plays Jackson’s lawyer, John Branca.
As for ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’, with no director in place yet, we’ll have to wait and see when –– or if –– it lands a release date.