It’s been a long time since we’ve heard anything about HBO’s highly acclaimed series The Wire. After coming to an end in 2008, fans cried out for more and in recent years, the show has gained an even larger following thanks to home video and whatnot. Though it’s unlikely that we’ll see anything else from creator David Simon’s brilliant show ever again, actor Wendell Pierce, who played Bunk Moreland on the show, would like to do a prequel.
Pierce took to Twitter recently to describe an idea for a prequel that he wanted to produce but couldn’t obtain a greenlight for. The idea was for Samuel L. Jackson to play a kingpin who runs the Franklin Terrace Towers, where “Stringer & Barksdale started a war and took over.”
As interesting as that may sound, it seems that it won’t ever come to fruition as Pierce has said that “we are all too old now and many actors have passed on.” He also “can’t convince David [Simon] that it’s a good idea.” Of course, the bigger problem is that Samuel L. Jackson is likely way too big a star for something like this and Idris Elba, who played Stringer on the show, is very much in demand right now. Like Jackson, he may be too high-profile for this project.
Either way, it’s interesting to know that a prequel to The Wire was once considered. The show is still one of the best to ever grace the small screen and even though it’s been off the air for years, I wouldn’t object to seeing David Simon and company head back to the streets of Baltimore. I loved the show and still miss some of the characters, especially Stringer Bell. Anything that would bring Simon’s world back to television would be fine by me.
What do you think? Do you miss The Wire? Would you like to see a prequel? Let us know what you think in the comments below.