Is the world ready for a new take on iconic surf girl Gidget, even though she exists more as a worldwide merchandising property than a film or TV character these days? 300 producer Mark Canton seems to think so, and he’s teaming up with Pterodactyl Productions to bring the character back to the big and small screens.
First birthed in a 1957 novel, Gidget became something of a pop cultural sensation in the late 1950s and ‘60s across the pond, with TV series and movies based around her, which kick-started the careers of Sandra Dee and Sally Field, who played her.
The most recent screen incarnation was 1987’s series The New Gidget, though she’s better known as the surf bum equivalent of Hello Kitty or Emily The Strange right now, with her name plastered over sporting goods, skateboards and (natch) surfboards.
Barney Cohen is in charge of getting the new projects up and running, having set up a deal with Gidget Worldwide (which controls the rights to the character) to develop it.
"Gidget has always been such a strong symbol of girl power," Canton tells Variety. "With female surfing exploding across the globe, the time is right to bring her back in a major way." Cowabunga, dudette?