HOLLYWOOD (Variety) – Steve Austin is back. Not the wrestler, but the fictional hero of the 1970s TV series “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

The 1972 Martin Caidin novel on which the series was based, ”Cyborg,” is being developed as a feature by Dimension Films and Universal Pictures.

Universal first began developing the feature in 1995, with writer/director Kevin Smith (”Dogma”) turning in a script. While it’s possible Smith could be involved with the newest take on the project, there are no writers’ deals in place.

In the original TV series starring Lee Majors, Steve Austin was a NASA test pilot badly injured in an accident. The government saved his life by replacing his legs, arm and eye with atomic-powered bionic devices. The half-man, half-cyborg was then sent on dangerous missions for the Office of Scientific Information, battling various international crooks and mad scientists.

The Universal-Dimension pact also includes rights to the three other novels in Caidin’s “Cyborg” series: “Operation Nuke,” “High Crystal” and “Cyborg IV.”

.“’Six Million Dollar Man’ is a franchisable film that we have been wanting to make for a long time now,” Dimension co-chairman Bob Weinstein told Daily Variety. “We’re elated to have worked out a partnership with Universal.”

Is it May yet? Please say it’s May tomorrow.

“Tonight Show” shoot went really well yesterday. We got some really funny stuff. It should be airing second week in January.

And as for “The Six Million Dollar Man”…

Like the man said…

“We can re-build him…”