The A-TEAM is the latest TV series lined up to become a blockbuster movie - and according to movie sources the perfect cast has already been picked.

Hot on the heels of the fantastically successful CHARLIE'S ANGELS film, producers feel now is the time to turn the action series into a movie.

The script for the film will be written for UNIVERSAL by KEVIN BRODBIN. His most notable credit to date is STEVEN SEAGAL movie THE GLIMMER MAN. Brodbin's task is to transform the series into an action-comedy film with a contemporary feel. The release date is planned for 2002.

The line-up is
B.A. BARACUS - VING RHAMES
H.M "MADMAN" MURDOCK - JIM CARREY
TEMPLETON "FACE" PECK - CHRISTIAN BALE
HANNIBAL SMITH - MEL GIBSON

And cameos from MR T - Original B.A. BARACUS DWIGHT SCHULTZ - Original MURDOCK DIRK BENEDICT - Original FACE

Although an all-new cast will be used, producer STEPHEN J CANNELL says he's going to use original A-Team members in the film. He says, "GEORGE PEPPARD has passed away. And pretty generally, the feeling is when you do a big budget feature film based on a television show, you should replace all the leads so that the movie does not feel like a television episode "But I intend to offer parts to the old cast of the show if they are available and if Universal agrees. Stay tuned on that one."

And a movie source reveals, "Obviously we're no-where near releasing a definite cast-list yet, but we've already got our 'dream cast' in our minds. "Funnily enough it took us less than ten minutes to work out who we wanted - the names just presented themselves. "We see VING RHAMES playing B.A. BARACUS because he's the only guy who could do him justice. "We want CHRISTIAN BALE to play FACE for obvious reasons and JIM CARREY would be perfect for MAD MAN MURDOCK. "The only character we can't agree on is HANNIBAL. He has to be perfect. The main contenders are TOMMY LEE JONES and MEL GIBSON."

There's been no mention of a female character, but it seems likely that TANYA ROBERTS's character AMY will make an appearance in the film. In line with the TV series, producers are planning to keep the action non-mortal instead concentrating on large-scale explosions and clever inventions. The budget is expected to be in the $100 million (£66m) mark, and pundits are predicting a full-on special effects extravaganza.

The storyline is expected to be brought up to date featuring a new team of military men on the run. They will most likely be veterans of the Gulf War. (JM/WN)

Source: WENN