'Police Academy' set for eighth edition

LOS ANGELES — “Police Academy” is back. After a decade’s absence from the big screen, the cop comedy franchise is gearing up for an eighth installment.

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“I felt it was time to start again,” said series creator Paul Maslansky. “I saw that 'Starsky & Hutch’ and a number of other revivals were doing really well. 'Police Academy’ has such a great history. I thought, 'Why not?”’

According to Maslansky, who will serve as an executive producer, the talent from the first seven features has expressed a keen interest in the revival, with Maslansky looking to combine both new and the “original talent” for the next “Police Academy.”

“We became very much like a family,” he said. “It’s is very unusual to have seven films with virtually all the same major cast.”

The project is being developed by Warner Bros. Pictures and its Australian joint-venture partner Village Roadshow. The project is out to writers, with the exact direction of the newest installment yet to be determined.

The most recent sequel in the franchise was “Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow” in 1994. The first “Police Academy” hit screens in 1984, bringing in a domestic box office take of $81.2 million. Then it was a film a year through 1989, with “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment” released in 1985, “Police Academy 3: Back in Training” in 1986, “Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol” in 1987, “Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach” in 1988 and “Police Academy 6: City Under Siege” in 1989. Altogether, the franchise brought in more than $230 million at the domestic box office. Maslansky also serviced the small screen with “Police Academy: The Animated Series” in 1993 and “Police Academy: The Series” in 1997.

Maslansky is working on several other projects, including another institution-based project, “Stunt School.” There’s also a New Orleans-set jazz feature about the life of Buddy Bolden, the first king of jazz.