Charles Officer, who directed the 1986 hockey classic Youngblood, is remaking the film. The remake was announced by Aircraft Pictures and Dolphin Entertainment; it would follow an African-American hockey player named Dean Youngblood as he moves from Detroit to Hamilton, Ontario to play for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League. There, he must overcome both internal and external poison if he is to achieve his aspirations of winning the Memorial Cup (the championship trophy of Canadian junior hockey) and making it to the NHL. Along the way, he learns from the team captain, fights a rival thug, and falls in love with the daughter of his coach.
As a former hockey player for the minor league’s Georgetown Raiders and the British Hockey League’s Norwich and Peterborough Pirates, Director Officer is no stranger to the quickest game on ice. Officer stated, “I am pleased to bring a fresh tale that centred on an African American hockey prodigy to the cinema, and the opportunity to reimagine the famous classic hockey drama Youngblood is a gift.” Rob Lowe plays Youngblood, a player for the made-up Hamilton Mustangs, in the 1986 MGM original. Youngblood, who is more skilled offensively than physically, learns to play a more well-rounded game from his more seasoned teammate Derek Sutton (Patrick Swayze) and finds love with Cynthia Gibb.
Present-day NHL stars Peter Zezel and Steve Thomas make cameo cameos, and the film also marks the film debut of a teenage Keanu Reeves—himself a former hockey player—in his first major role. After a lacklustre run in theatres, it became a hit among hockey enthusiasts owing to cable TV and home video and is now widely regarded as a classic, although a silly one. The officer is a seasoned director and actor who has worked on several Canadian TV productions. His credits include Private Eyes, Coroner, and The Porter. He directed the movie, Nurse.Fighter.Boy (2008) and Akilla’s Escape (2020).
The script will be written by Josh Epstein, Kyle Rideout, Seneca Aaron, and Officer. Executive producing for Dolphin Entertainment is Bill O’Dowd and Emerson Davis, while for Photon Films it will be Mark Slone and Zanne Devine. Jake Yanowski will serve as a co-producer alongside Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen. Production on Youngblood is scheduled to get underway at the beginning of 2023.