Petersen says there will be a 'CSI' movie

LONDON, April 21 (UPI) -- U.S. actor William Petersen says a film version of his crime scene procedural "CSI" is in the works.

Petersen gave up his starring role on the long-running television series in its ninth season, but is still an executive producer on the show and may return to his character at a later date. Laurence Fishburne is now the lead on the flagship crime scene investigation series, which has two popular spinoffs.

"I can understand people are a little trepidatious because of the franchise around the world and how well it's doing. Usually people leave it till a series has finished -- they did that with 'The X-Files' and 'Sex and The City.' But it's about finding the right story," the BBC said Petersen told the Radio Times. "There has got to be a real reason to do it. You don't just do it because you want to make money; you do it because there's a story that can't be told on TV and needs to be told from 'CSI's' perspective and the audience wants it. And we can't wait for 'CSI' to end or (my character) Grissom will be about 90."