Norman Reedus has been AMC’s favorite son for a long time now, going back to before Andrew Lincoln’s departure from The Walking Dead made Reedus the de facto star of the biggest show that nobody will admit to still watching. Now, in case you needed more proof that AMC will do whatever it takes to make Norman Reedus happy (more proof on top of the fact that it already gave him a show that’s just about riding motorcycles around, that is), Deadline is reporting that AMC Studios is letting Reedus and his production company Bigbaldhead make a TV version of cult-classic Russ Meyer movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
The project has the “full backing” of the Meyer estate, and though it’s “still in the early stages,” the plan is to “go beyond” the original and focus on the stuff that people grew to like about the film rather than the stuff it’s literally about. In other words, Reedus and AMC plan to focus on “the strong female characters” and the “overturning of cultural norms” rather than just the go-go dancers killing and robbing people in the desert—though that stuff will presumably still be there, because god damn, the people want to see women going on a rampage. If you want to take a somewhat cynical and reductive approach, it sounds like Reedus and AMC might hoping to put a little prestige TV flourish on the old exploitation movie. Sort of like Breaking Bad meets… Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, but that might just be because of the whole desert aesthetic.
In a statement, Reedus said that he’s been a fan of the original Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! since he was a kid and that he would wear a Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! shirt to school (which sounds extremely on-brand for kid Norman Reedus). He also says he was “beyond inspired” by Meyer’s “style of filmmaking” and that he’s “over the moon excited” to tell this story. There’s no mention of Reedus possibly appearing in the show, but seeing as how he’s a man, there might not be too many big roles for him.