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Over the past 20 years of faithful American Gladiators viewing (besides the one year it was off the air, obviously), did you ever get the sense there was something... missing? That, somehow, there was more at its heart than the story of a 35-year-old firefighter from Grand Rapids and a 29-year-old teacher from Queens proving something by rolling around in metal spheres and firing Nerf guns at steroid-loaded behemoths in patriotic spandex? Good news: you weren't imagining things. There always was a grander tale. The series was always meant to be a film, and now it finally will be:

Johnny Ferraro, creator of the "American Gladiators" TV franchise, is bringing a live-action adaptation of the property to the bigscreen.

The film will be based on the TV show that first aired in 1988 and has been on the air every year except one during the past 20 years. Most recently, NBC aired a primetime installment in 2008. The show has aired in more than 90 countries, with the format adapted for the local market in 14 of them.

The goal is to create an action story that takes place inside the world Ferraro has created.

"I look forward to creating a compelling story that launches a whole new set of characters," [producer] Mednick said.

Ferraro noted "American Gladiators" was originally conceived as a film, but the property "took a detour and became a TV phenomenon."

I was going to say, I feel like I already know Turbo so well through the series that seeing his character in a film would be redundant, but if we're talking all-new Gladiators, then yeah, go for it. I'm just a little curious what this "compelling story" will entail. I hate to be the one to tell you, Ferraro, but if it's "average guys forced to compete against America's greatest gladiators," that isn't all that compelling.

'Gladiators' leaps to bigscreen [Variety]