Casting Couch: Josh Brolin Needs To Play Magnum P.I.

Okay, let me get this straight. Michael Mann made the classic ’80s cop series Miami Vice into a feature film in 2006. And Joe Carnahan unveiled his big screen adaptation of the classic ’80s soldiers-turned-mercenaries series The A-Team last week. So, where is the flick based on the classic ’80s detective series Magnum P.I.?

Stuck in developmental hell, no doubt. In 2007, it was announced that bongo-playing pothead and sometimes “actor” Matthew McConaughey would don the signature mustache to portray Thomas Magnum. Thankfully, that project fell apart. McConaughey was great playing himself in Dazed and Confused, but has pretty much sucked in everything else he’s done.

In a recent interview while promoting Killers, Tom Selleck said he would be interested in reprising the role if he were approached. No offense to Selleck, but he’s 65 and while he looks to be in decent shape for his age, we all saw how ridiculous older dudes trying to behave young can be in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Not again, please.

Which brings me to Josh Brolin. One couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between he and Magnum while watching No Country For Old Men, which was set in 1980, the same year the series debuted. The mustache, the .45 caliber handgun, the Vietnam War connection, him being chased by a dog. C’mon, it’s all right there in living color.

Brolin, at 42,  is also close in age to Selleck, who was 35 when he first flashed his private detective license. Now, Brolin takes a hit in the height department being only 5’11″ as opposed to Selleck’s 6’3″ frame, but everyone looks taller in the movies. See Al Pacino and Tom Cruise if you need proof.

Physical appearance aside, Brolin’s real benefit is as an actor. He’s been on a hot streak since No Country, which he killed in as the reluctant hero Llewelyn Moss. He followed that up with a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for 2008′s Milk. The comic book adaptation Jonah Hex drops tomorrow, and a key role in the Coen Bros. remake of True Grit is on the way. Needless to say, he’s a busy, busy boy.

Brolin is known mostly for his dramatic and villain roles, but he proved in 1996′s Flirting With Disaster he can also play comedy, which is important to the Magnum character. Selleck was adept at balancing the prankster side with the serious side of Thomas Magnum. Whoever plays the part will need to do the same and Brolin fits the profile. I can definitely see him fuc*ing with Higgins one minute, then shooting the Russian who tortured him in Vietnam the next.

What the hell are the studios waiting for? We all know they will eventually resurrect the Magnum project, so why not get a head start and give Brolin a call? I was a huge fan of the series and although remakes and adaptations normally make me cringe, I would certainly pay to see Brolin as Magnum. Who’s with me?