Sony Developing a Mixed-Martial Arts Movie Starring…Kevin James?

[Diesel]

That loud ‘thwack!’ you just heard was the sound of thousands of fight enthusiasts face-palming in unison. As part of Sony’s continuing program to make money off the same audience that turned Paul Blart: Mall Cop into a big hit, the studio is developing a new, as yet untitled comedy that will see Kevin James winning fights in the Octagon.

To be scripted by Allan Loeb, the story will have James as “a physics teacher whose school faces drastic cutbacks. In an attempt to save his best friend’s job and the music program his students love, he moonlights in the octagon as a mixed martial arts fighter, ultimately leading to brawling in the UFC.”

Is this Beverly Hills Ninja or more like Chubby Rocky? I can’t really tell from that synopsis, though knowing James’ onscreen persona I’m guessing more the former. I’d prefer the latter, but don’t really expect that’s what we’ll get. (In this case, I’ll take an inspirational if wildly unlikely comedy over the broad, slapstick-y, wildly unlikely comedy.)

More on this one as it comes in, so you can at least enjoy the hilarity from the sidelines. [Deadline]

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