Eliza Dushku is giving it another try.
Following short-lived small-screen attempts including “Tru Calling” and Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” (both of which were cancelled in the midst of their respective second seasons), the “Buffy” alum has nabbed a leading role in “The Saint,” an updating of the 1960s Roger Moore TV series of the same name that will air as a “backdoor pilot” (i.e. a pilot that can air as a standalone movie even if it’s not picked up to series).
Dushku will star as Patricia Holm, the on-again, off-again love interest of lead protagonist Simon Templar, who is being played in the reboot by Adam Rayner (the BBC’s “Hunted”). Holm was not a factor in the original TV series and has been portrayed on-screen only once, by actress Jean Gillie in the 1943 film “The Saint Meets the Tiger.”
Production is slated to begin this Friday on the pilot, which is being directed by Simon West (“The Expendables 2,” “Con Air”) from a script by Jesse Alexander (“Lost,” “Alias”). Shooting will take place in London, Toronto and Los Angeles.
The news was broken by Deadline.
Created by British author Leslie Charteris, Templar is the mysterious Robin Hood-style thief who took on the corrupted ranks of the rich and powerful in a long-running series of novels, novellas and short stories beginning in the late 1920s. In addition to television, the franchise has been spun off into a number of films (including the 1997 Val Kilmer version), comic books and radio shows.
Do you think Dushku is a good casting choice, or would you have preferred a different actress?