CBS announced today that they've cast Charlie Sheen in a remake of the popular television series My Favorite Martian. Sources inside the network say they've been quietly negotiating the deal with Sheen's lawyers for the past several days, but didn't want to make any official announcement until it was finalized.
The move is a bold one, as they were potentially facing a lawsuit by the embattled star over the shut down of Two and a Half Men, and his subsequent firing by Warner Bros. Television. The idea was initially put forth as a way to preempt any costly litigation by the actor, which could run into the 'bazillions' and bankrupt the financially strapped network. No word yet on how much Sheen will be paid, but sources close to the deal say it's a win/win for everyone involved.
The original series, which also aired on CBS between 1963 - 1966, starred Ray Walston as Uncle Martin, the martian anthropologist, and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara, the newspaper reporter who takes the extra-terrestrial in after his spaceship crashes near Los Angeles.
In the new series, which will be produced by CBS Television Studios, Sheen plays the character of Uncle Martin, but instead of being an anthropologist, he'll be a rockstar from Mars. Casting for the Tim O'Hara part has not been announced, but speculation has already begun that it might be Matt LeBlanc, who starred in the movie remake of another hit sci-fi series, Lost in Space. The show is set to air in September.
My Favorite Martian was also remade as a feature film in 1999.
