In the years following the conclusion of Mad Men, Jon Hamm has expressed a pretty keen interest in shifting his career towards comedy but despite his appearances on several funny TV shows (and a handful of less funny movies) he has yet to be given a starring vehicle of his own. That is about to change this week as Miramax is teaming up with him on a reboot of a classic ’80s comedy Fletch. Chevy Chase starred in the original film and its sequel, Fletch Lives, but now after many years of failed attempts to revive the franchise, Jon Hamm is set to take over the role as smooth-talking investigative report I.M. Fletcher. Hit the jump for more details.

According to THR, Jon Hamm will star in and produce Fletch for Miramax, based on the series of novels by Gregory Mcdonald. The movie is said to be based on the second book in the series, Confess, Fletch, with Zev Borow (Chuck, Lethal Weapon) on board to write the screenplay. Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) is attached to direct.

A new version of Fletch has been in the works for years now with Kevin Smith once attached to direct in the early 2000s with Jason Lee in the lead role. Smith eventually dropped out and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence took over with Zach Braff rumoured to be playing Fletch. Then in 2011, Warner Brothers acquired the rights and tried to set up a new movie with Jason Sudeikis starring. None of those movies ever came to fruition, so it will be interesting to see if this pans out. Are you excited to see Jon Hamm take on Fletch?