'Psych: The Movie' Could Happen Five More Times Like 'Fast and Furious' Franchise, Creator Says
It looks like "Psych: The Movie" won't be a one-time thing. Creator Steve Franks revealed that he has big plans of expanding the specials into five movies and he's looking at the "Fast and Furious" franchise for inspiration.
Franks discussed his plans with Entertainment Weekly as the movie's production gets underway. The two-hour film nabbed a scheduled December run on USA Network but this early, Franks has already expressed hope that there will be follow-up.
He cited that "Fast and Furious" started off as a movie about street-racing but its succeeding films have since changed direction.
"They've pivoted into heist movies and all that stuff," he said, envisioning the same thing for his creation. "I kind of want the [Psych] movies to pivot into action-comedy where you can do something that feels like a feature movie and not just two episodes of 'Psych' put together."
The writer, director and producer already has some plot ideas and returning characters in mind for the second film. All that is missing is the green light from the network.
Meanwhile, "Psych: The Movie" recently unveiled the first look at the returning cast with James Roday (Shawn Spencer), Dulé Hill (Burton Guster), Corbin Bernsen (Henry Spencer), Maggie Lawson (Juliet O'Hara), Kirsten Nelson (Karen Vick) and Kurt Fuller (Woody Strode). Missing from the photo is Timothy Omundson (Carlton Lassiter) who is still recovering from a stroke and could not participate in the filming.
Roday, who also co-wrote the script, revealed that Omundson will still be in the movie.
"We found the best way possible to keep Lassiter very much a part of what we do," the actor said.
Also featured in "Psych: The Movie" is Zachary Levi as the villain named Thin White Duke. Franks and Roday confirmed his character was inspired by David Bowie's "Station to Station" album release. The writers also teased that Team Psych will come together like the Avengers to stop Levi's character from wreaking havoc.
"Psych" aired for eight seasons on USA Network from 2006 to 2014. The show was about a duo running a psychic detective agency who helped the police crack their cases.