Saber Interactive is bringing back the long-dormant Stuntman series with Stuntman: Hollywood, currently in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the first time, the game will feature real movies and TV shows through a partnership with Universal Pictures.
The trailer showcased segments based on Fast & Furious, Back to the Future, Knight Rider, Miami Vice, and the 2008 film Death Race. This first look at Stuntman: Hollywood reveals a range of vehicles from these properties, including Brian O'Conner's cars from The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious, as well as the armored Mustang driven by Jason Statham's character in Death Race. The massive tanker truck from the latter also appears, and hopefully players will get to drive it. The enormous crash of The Dreadnought, filmed practically, is one of the most impressive and memorable moments in that film.
Not all cars appear to be officially licensed; for instance, the Miami Vice vehicle is a lookalike lacking the iconic side strakes of Sonny Crockett's white 1986 Ferrari Testarossa. However, K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider and the Time Machine from Back to the Future are legitimate models and are explicitly named in the official announcement.
"The classic Stuntman game was so memorable for me, it's always been a dream to recreate such a legend of gaming history and evolve it into something new," said Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits in a statement. "At Saber, we love working with classic IPs, and we're excited to team up again with Universal to bring back a true adrenaline rush for fans."
For those unfamiliar, the original Stuntman was released in 2002 on PlayStation 2, developed by Reflections Interactive (now Ubisoft Reflections), which was riding high on the success of Destruction Derby, Driver, and their sequels. While Driver drew inspiration from Hollywood car chases, Stuntman made that its entire premise, casting players as a professional stunt driver with a refined handling model.
Stuntman became a cult classic but was notoriously difficult, requiring near-perfect execution of stunts in a single take. It didn't feature real films but included obvious homages like a Guy Ritchie-inspired London crime caper, off-brand Indiana Jones and James Bond adventures, and a riff on The Dukes of Hazzard called A Whoopin' and a Hollerin'. The game also had a construction mode for building and performing freestyle stunts with a fun destruction system.
A sequel, Stuntman: Ignition, followed in 2007 but was developed by Paradigm Entertainment instead of Reflections, as THQ had acquired the rights. It had a different feel and featured six fake films inspired by Dante's Peak, The A-Team, Batman, Bullitt, and another Bond parody, plus a sequel to A Whoopin' and a Hollerin'. However, it underperformed commercially, and THQ ended the series.
Now, nearly 20 years later, Saber Interactive is reviving Stuntman. A release date for Stuntman: Hollywood hasn't been announced, but the handling model will be crucial for a precision-focused racer. Fans also hope this isn't the last revival for a Reflections racer, as 5,391 days have passed since Driver: San Francisco.
