James Wan brought in to direct new MacGyver pilot after first is scrapped

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

James Wan was instrumental in getting CBS' MacGyver reboot off the ground and at one point was set to direct the pilot episode himself. However, his feature film commitments led to Wan dropping out and he was replaced by David Von Ancken who directed the MacGyver pilot. Although the pilot was apparently good enough to warrant a series pickup by CBS, it won't be seeing the light of day anytime soon. The MacGyver pilot has been scrapped in favour of an entirely new take with a new script by Peter Lenkov (Hawaii Five-O), and now that James Wan has a little time on his schedule, he's been brought back to direct the new pilot.

Lucas Till and George Eads will remain on-board but the rest of the cast will be replaced. The original pilot followed MacGyver as he was "recruited into the clandestine organization from the original series where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening." The revamped pilot will now see MacGyver creating "a clandestine organization within the U.S. government where he uses his extraordinary talent for unconventional problem solving and vast scientific knowledge to save lives." George Eads will now play a new character, maverick former CIA agent Jack Dalton, who joins up with the MacGyver team to take on high-risk missions around the globe. They will be joined by Justin Hires, who plays MacGyver's ambitious roommate Wilt Bozer and keeps MacGyver entertained while, "under the aegis of the Department of External Services, he takes on the responsibility of saving the world, armed to the teeth with resourcefulness and little more than bubble gum and a paper clip." MacGyver is still set to air on CBS this fall.

James Wan's THE CONJURING 2 is now playing in theaters, so make sure to check out this review by our own Chris Bumbray.