'Confess, Fletch' trailer shows Jon Hamm reviving infamous reporter

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Paramount Pictures and Miramax released the official trailer for Confess, Fletch, an upcoming comedy-mystery film that reboots the popular series from the 1980s.

Jon Hamm stars in the film as Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, a retired and sarcastic investigative reporter who ends up on a quest to find a collection of stolen art.

Over the course of his investigation, though, Fletch becomes the prime suspect in a murder, and he must prove his innocence while also tracking down the multi-million art collection.

The film additionally stars Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, Lorenza Izzo and Annie Mumolo.

The trailer, released Thursday, also shows Hamm reunite with John Slattery, his co-star from the iconic period drama Mad Men.

Confess, Fletch is based on the character first seen in Gregory Mcdonald's 1974 novel, Fletch.

The reporter was first seen on-screen in 1985's Fletch, an adaptation of the book that saw the character portrayed by Chevy Chase. Chase would reprise the role for a 1989 sequel, Fletch Lives.

Following that sequel, a number of attempts to reboot the series were undertaken, but the project had languished for the past 30 years, unable to get past the development stage.

It was finally confirmed in July 2020 that a reboot of the series would begin production, with director Greg Mottola at the helm.

Mottola and Hamm had previously collaborated on the 2016 film Keeping Up with the Joneses.

Mottola, who is also known for directing films such as 2007's Superbad and 2009's Adventureland, recently told Entertainment Weekly that "Fletch is a guy who's usually the smartest person in the room."

Both Mottola and Hamm, though, have reiterated that this version of the film will have significant differences from the Chase films.

"The reason we didn't ask Chevy Chase to be in it is not because we don't love the original movies, we do, but we thought this should be a new thing," Mottola told Entertainment Weekly. "We thought it wouldn't be right to steal them. We reference the original, we pay homage to it, but we tried to really balance it halfway between a detective mystery and a comedy."

Hamm similarly told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020, "The character in the book's a lot different than Chevy's portrayal, and so when [Miramax] came to me and said, 'You know, we own this and we think you'd be a good fit,' I agreed, but I don't want to imitate Chevy."

"We already have that version, so maybe there's a way to get a version that's more true to life for the book, more intellectual and a little more live in its sensibility," Hamm added.

Confess, Fletch will be released in theaters, digital and digital on-demand on Sept. 16.