Paramount Pictures is assembling a HAWAII FIVE-O movie with Maui-raised director Destin Daniel Cretton attached to develop and direct.
“I try to infuse my upbringing into everything that I make in some way or another,” Cretton told HONOLULU Magazine in 2021. The director grew up in Ha‘ikū, Maui, and said Hawaii’s beauty and diversity continue to shape his creative decisions.
Deadline first reported that Cretton would develop the project with plans to direct, while BAD BOYS FOR LIFE screenwriter Chris Bremner and JACKIE screenwriter Noah Oppenheim write the screenplay. Entertainment 360 producer Guymon Casady assembled the package with the estate of HAWAII FIVE-O creator Leonard Freeman and will produce.
The wave is only beginning to build. Paramount has not commented, plot details remain under wraps and no cast, production schedule or release date has been announced.
Cretton arrives with plenty of momentum after directing SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, which has earned more than $2.4 billion worldwide. He also directed Marvel’s SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, giving Paramount an experienced action storyteller for a property built on chases, shootouts and high-stakes police work.
Freeman’s original HAWAII FIVE-O premiered on CBS in 1968 and ran for 12 seasons through 1980. Paramount+ describes the premise as Detective Steve McGarrett leading a special division of Hawaii’s state police against organized crime across the islands.
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“Book ’em, Danno” became the show’s unmistakable signature line, while Morton Stevens’ pounding theme music became nearly as famous. Actor Jack Lord played the square-jawed McGarrett, and actor James MacArthur portrayed his partner, Danny “Danno” Williams.
CBS revived the franchise as HAWAII FIVE-0 — swapping the letter “O” for a zero — in 2010. Actors Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan took over as McGarrett and Danno, with Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park helping anchor a run that reached 10 seasons and 240 episodes before ending in 2020.
Earlier attempts to move HAWAII FIVE-O into theaters repeatedly stalled before cameras could roll. Deadline reported that lawsuits and rights disputes involving CBS helped send the property back toward television instead, opening the door to the 2010 revival.
That successful revival proved the sun-soaked procedural could work for a new generation without simply copying the original. It also means the planned movie inherits two passionate fan bases, each with its own idea of McGarrett, Danno and the Five-O team.
The biggest questions remain unanswered. The announcement does not establish whether the story will stand alone, connect to either television version or invite past cast members back for cameos.
There is not enough information yet to judge the movie’s content or suitability for families. Still, the franchise has traditionally centered on partnership, courage and bringing criminals to justice — sturdy ingredients if the new screenplay handles them with care.
After several earlier attempts failed to carry HAWAII FIVE-O into theaters, this package gives the property fresh momentum and a director with unusually personal ties to its setting. If it reaches production, one of television’s most Hawaii-rooted franchises will finally have a storyteller whose own creative roots began on the islands.
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