Cinemax Is Rebooting Strike Back With an Entirely New Cast

Strike Back is coming back to Cinemax.

The fan favorite action series, which was previously rumored to be continuing on the big screen, is being rebooted with an entirely new cast, TVGuide.com has learned.

According to Deadline, the network's first foray into original scripted programming will evolve from a bromance-centered series into more of an ensemble drama -- which could be good news for its supporting characters, who frequently wound up dead during the original run. Although there is no premiere date yet, the series will be produced by the franchise's executive producer Andy Harries and written by Jack Lothian, who wrote a number of episodes in the series' fifth season, which aired in 2015.

The reboot will see the previously disbanded Section program reformed to track down a new terrorist in the wake of a prison break. The mission will take the new team, led by Alin Sumarwata's Gracie Novin, across the Middle East and Europe. Daniel MacPherson will play Samuel Wyatt, a loner who doesn't want to be part of a team; Roxanne McKee stars as Natalie Roberts, a psychological profiler who comes from a long line of military personnel; and Warren Brown appears as Daniel "Mac" Macallister, who's described as being a man driven by vengeance after losing his team.

'70s crime drama Quarry is another step in the right direction for Cinemax

The new season will be the show's sixth overall and fifth at Cinemax. The American pay-cable network came on board to co-produce the series with the U.K.'s Sky after the show's six-episode first season, which was based on the novel of the same name by former soldier Chris Ryan and starred Richard Armitage and a pre-The Walking Dead Andrew Lincoln.

Once Cinemax signed on, the series was rebooted in 2011 with actors Sullivan Stapleton (currently starring on Blindspot) and Philip Winchester (formerly of The Player and next of Chicago Justice) as Sgts. Damien Scott and Michael Stonebridge, respectively. Although Armitage reprised his role when Cinemax first came on board, it is unknown if Stapleton or Winchester will reprise their roles in the new series. When fans last saw the best bros to ever bro they were literally riding off into the sunset together after surviving yet another dangerous mission, but it's hard to imagine a version of Strike Back without them.

What makes this second rebooting intriguing -- or perhaps confusing is the better word -- is the fact Cinemax has been attempting to distance itself from its action origins of late. Strike Back signed off in 2015 and then Banshee, a narratively ambitious drama notable for its action and fight scenes, aired its fourth and final season earlier this year. The network, which is owned by HBO, has found wider recognition with quality dramas like Steven Soderbergh's The Knick and the Vietnam-era Quarry, but there's been a fairly clear move away from action-dominated works.

Now, there's nothing really wrong with bringing back Strike Back -- the series was frequently far better than it had any right to be and its action sequences were often more impressive than those in a number of films -- but what does a Strike Back without Scott and Stonebridge look like? Better yet: Do fans even want to know?