Key and Peele Police Academy reboot canceled after Ferguson

A planned reboot of the "Police Academy" comedy franchise, set to star Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, was shelved over a decade ago following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, according to comedian and writer Ike Barinholtz. Barinholtz revealed the project's cancellation on a recent episode of his podcast, "Funny You Ask."

Barinholtz said he and his writing partner, David Stassen, were hired by New Line Cinema to write a new script for the revival. The studio requested a "dirty, rated R, modern" take on the 1984 film, which starred Steve Guttenberg and launched a series of sequels. Key and Peele were attached to star and produce.

During development, Barinholtz recounted an awkward meeting with the original film's creator, who insisted on bringing back the original cast. In a pitch, the creator began naming characters like Moses Hightower and Eugene Tackleberry, whose actors, Bubba Smith and David Graf, had died years earlier in 2011 and 2001, respectively. Barinholtz said the creator had not researched which cast members were still alive and was unhappy when this was pointed out.

The more significant obstacle emerged in August 2014. On August 9, a white...