In the last year, there has been a lot of talk that Zach Braff (Scrubs, Garden State) would be playing a young Fletch in Fletch Won, a new film based on the works of Gregory Mcdonald.

The wisecracking reporter first came to the big screen, played by Chevy Chase, in 1985’s Fletch.
While it was a modest success, it was bashed by both critics and fans of the McDonald novels. There was then a sequel, Fletch Lives, in 1989, but the less said about that the better.

TVGuide.com is reporting that Braff has now passed on playing the investigative reporter because of scheduling conflicts.

Director Bill Lawrence said “Zach is writing and directing his own film [Open Hearts] at Paramount. I’m very happy for him. We were looking forward to doing this thing together, but when you get an opportunity like that, you’ve got to take it.”

Lawrence is now in New York looking for a new actor to play Mr. Fletch.

While this will be Lawrence’s first time directing a film, he has plenty of experience in television as the producer/writer of Scrubs as well as a stint as exec producer of Spin City.

This is unfortunate, I thought Braff could have been quite good in the role.