Wilmer Valderrama will star as motorcycle cop Ponch in the big-screen version of
CHiPs, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Erik Estrada famously originated the Ponch role in
CHiPs, which ran on NBC in the late 1970s and followed the adventures of California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers Francis "Ponch" Poncherello and Jon Baker. Larry Wilcox played Baker.
The show had a serious macho tone, but over the years has achieved a cheesy, cult status. Sources say the project was built around the involvement of Valderrama, best known as Fez on "That '70s Show."
The movie will be an action-comedy set in the present day. The formula has worked well for Warners, which has had success with recent TV-to-film translations such as "Starsky & Hutch" and "The Dukes of Hazzard."
The project has no producer and no director attached.