The following contains spoilers for The Fall Guy, now playing in theaters
Summary
- 2024's The Fall Guy updates Colt Seavers as a stuntman without the bounty hunter side-gig from the original The Fall Guy TV series.
- Jody undergoes serious transformations, reinvented from stuntwoman to a director and love interest for Colt.
- The movie introduces new characters, like Dan Tucker and Alma Milan, while cutting the show's original supporting cast.
The Fall Guy takes a lot of liberties with the original television series that inspired it, making some serious changes in bringing the show to the big screen. Starring Lee Majors, Heather Thomas, and Douglass Barr, The Fall Guy aired for five seasons on ABC from 1981 to 1986. By contrast, 2024's The Fall Guy is a blockbuster movie that takes a far different approach to the adventures of Colt Seavers. Although both versions of The Fall Guy focuses on a Hollywood stuntman at the center of their story, they both approach the concept from a very different place.
In fact, the numerous differences between the show and the film make for a good case study in how far adaptations can go in reimagining their original concept, while still retaining the dangerous stunts that helped define The Fall Guy. While the first version of The Fall Guy was an episodic action-adventure series that would utilize a standard formula for over a hundred episodes, The Fall Guy's characters are utilized in a far more directed satire of the modern film industry that infuses the action with a surprisingly sweet love story. Here are the biggest differences between The Fall Guy film and the show that inspired it.
The Fall Guy's Post-Credits Scene Explained
The Fall Guy could be a new franchise for Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, and the first movie does have a post-credits scene. Here's what happens.
10 2024's The Fall Guy Drops Colt's Bounty Hunter Side-Gig
The New Colt Is After The Fall Guy's Criminals To Clear His Name & Save Jody's Film
The Fall Guy makes several major changes to the original TV series that inspired it, with many of the biggest changes directed at Colt Seavers. In the new film, Ryan Gosling's version of Colt is a long-time stuntman who worked his way up from the Universal Studios amusement park to blockbuster movies. However, while the film throws him into dangerous situations, he never necessarily goes looking for it himself. Instead, he gets wrapped up in the conspiracy concocted by Gail and Tom because of his drive to help Jody.
In the original TV show, Colt was far more active in jumping into danger. In the show, Colt was a stunt-man, but he was also a bounty hunter. This was the primary dive of the series, as Colt would split his time between on-set stunts and bringing down criminals. This was even the source of the show's title, as he became "the Fall Guy" for the justice system when criminals couldn't be caught by more conventional means.
9 Jody Isn't A Stunt Woman In 2024's The Fall Guy
Jody Goes From Stunt Woman Ally To A Film Director In Love With Colt
In both versions of The Fall Guy, Jody is established as a fellow filmmaking professional alongside Colt. However, the two versions of Jody are different beyond those surface-level elements. In the original TV show, Jody Banks is a stuntwoman who joins Colt on many of his missions. Jody even took on assignments unrelated to Colt at times. By contrast, the film features Jody Moreno as a camera operator who eventually becomes a director herself, shifting her job to behind the camera.
Another major change to the film compared to the show is the relationship between Colt and Jody. In the film, the romance between Colt and Jody is central to the overarching plot, with their eventual reconciliation serving as the emotional coda of the film. In the original show, the pair were far more established as business partners and friends instead of being primarily a romantic couple.