‘The A-Team’ Director Knows What’s to Blame for Action Reboot’s Failure

Director Joe Carnahan hates that this particular plan didn’t come together. The filmmaker behind such action movie favorites as Smokin’ Aces, Cop Shop, the recent Netflix hit The Rip, and the Liam Neeson survival thriller The Grey, has been reflecting on the Neeson-led outing that should have spawned a trilogy. And, considering it’s also a reboot of a beloved 80s series, it’s hard to argue. But Carnahan knows who’s at fault.

Starring Liam Neeson alongside Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, and Quinton Jackson, Joe Carnahan’s remake of The A-Team was unleashed back in 2010, and cast the aforementioned foursome as John “Hannibal” Smith, Templeton “Face” Peck, H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock, and Bosco “B.A.” Baracus, respectively. The A-Team reboot acts as a semi-origin for the titular team, starting things all over again as follows the crack commando unit as they’re framed and sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit. However, before becoming the off-the-grid soldiers of fortune they are in the original series, they must first fight (and, of course, fail) to clear their names.

Led by Neeson and Cooper and boasting modern action amid the nostalgic setting, The A-Team should have been an effortless slam dunk. While it was met with somewhat mixed reviews, there was plenty left to build on, with many expecting the beginnings of a modern A-Team franchise. Instead, The A-Team, despite their best efforts, failed at the box office, grossing $177 million worldwide against its $110 million budget and scrapping any plans for a sequel. 15 years later, Carnahan looks back at the failure of The A-Team (via Empire), and reveals what he thinks happened…

“This is one of those movies where we screwed up the marketing. We should have made three of these.”

Describing it as “close to me making a superhero film,” the Boss Level director (who is facing legal trouble right now) is clearly disappointed that The A-Team franchise didn’t take off, with the filmmaker as well as the main cast interested in returning for more action. Continuing, Carnahan heaped praise on the main four, saying…

“The guys had spent a lot of time together, and there’s a great sense of the cast here. Rampage [Jackson], who was not a professional actor, was so good in that BA role. Forget Mr T; Rampage is just a much better actor.”

20th Century Studios

Since its initial release, The A-Team has found success on various streaming platforms here and there. While it’s unlikely that Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper would make a comeback now, considering the former is now 73 years old and looking to wind down the action fare, while the latter is busy directing, it’s surely impossible that “A-Team reboot again” isn’t written on a studio whiteboard somewhere, with its combination of action and nostalgia making it ripe for another attempt. Though no doubt they’d struggle to match 2010’s pitch perfect cast.