Shepard, Pena are C.H.I.P.S

Dax Shepard will write, direct and star in a feature film based on the classic ’70s series “C.H.I.P.S”, according to Deadline.

Shepard will play Officer Jon Baker in the film, with Michael Pena (“End of Watch”) set to play Frank “Ponch” Poncherello.

This is the most serious Warner Bros has been in turning CHiPS into a film. The studio tried it years ago, after That ’70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama showed up in the office of exec Greg Silverman (who’s now running production at the studio). Dressed in the signature tight-fitting uniform, Valderrama merely said, “Funny, right?” — and he walked out with a deal and an intention to play Ponch. Apparently it wasn’t funny enough because while TV shows from that era such as Starsky & Hutch and The Dukes Of Hazzard got movie transfers, CHiPS stalled. The new take is envisioned as much in the tone of Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon than a comedy.

Shepard, a regular on “Parenthood”, is a professional car and bike stuntman so expects to do most of the movie’s stunts himself.