By | Published January 14, 2009

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Will Smith’s KARATE KID remake may actually turn into THE KUNG FU KID the way things are going. Earlier it was reported that the project, which will star Smith’s son Jaden, would be set in China. Now, Jackie Chan is in negotiations to take on the role of Mr. Miyagi, originally played by the late Pat Morita.

In addition, it is reported that Harold Zwart has climbed on board as director. His credits include kid actioner AGENT CODY BANKS and upcoming Steve Martin comedy THE PINK PANTHER 2.

In other words, the guy who is directing a throwaway sequel to an extremely unfunny reboot of a classic comedy series originally starring the great Peter Sellers is now going to be responsible for rebooting THE KARATE KID franchise. Not good.

I am very curious to know what the script will be like if Chan gets the part. A lot of questions will need to be answered. Will his character still be Japanese? Will he be a karate master? Will the film still be a drama or turn into a comedy? It seems that Smith is trying his best to change everything. It begs a final question. Will this movie have any relation to THE KARATE KID in the end? At this point, fans of the original films and Jackie Chan may be hoping the answer is no.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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  • lillippa328

    hmmm…..

    I think it would maaybe work if it was more of a self standing movie with homage to the original rather than a remake…..

    actually….nah….im just talkn crazy cuz its always good 2 see chan

  • Tie

    i think hollywoods crazy! Anything to make £££!
    I would recommand things like the Art of Fighting, a Korean version which goes into the psychological side of fighting and how to over come ur fears if ur getting bullied..

    Something kids need help with these days

  • Paddy

    Oh dear. Whilst I still have alot of respect for JC, I think he’s the wrong choice, and it’ll be a disaster. Infact, why do Hollywood think The Karate Kid needs a remake anyway..JC is no Miyaki san.

  • WEJ

    Quite possibly the worst thing for martial arts cinema since the Dragonball trailers first hit. This is exactly why I like gaming more then going to the movies these days. Head over to youtube and search “MGS4 final fight scene” you’ll see what I mean. 10mins of CGI and it puts the last 10 years of Hollywood to SHAME!

  • BruisedLo

    rofl. picture the fearless hyena and the forbidden kingdom old man dress up jackie has done. xD

    i dunno what will smith is thinking… its gonna turn into a comedy haha. because everytime jackie play a old man, its just funny. u know, if jackie gets the job, i’ll be actually looking forward to it… hahaha.

  • Hammer

    The biggest problem isn’t JC or anything like that it’s that Jayden Smith is 10 years old. Who wants to see a film where 10 year olds do kung fu? Yeah those fights can be fun but throughout a whole movie? It gets a little creepy.

  • justin quizon

    In the end, I just wished they called this something else.

    Please don’t call this “The Karate Kid”.

    If it was re-titled “The Kung Fu Kid” or something to that nature, I will feel a little better about it.

    At least it could proclaim to be “inspired” by it (or “homage” to it), not remake it.

  • anthropy

    For Jackie it’s simply about the promoting of the Chinese culture through an American movie by teaching a foreign kid.

    If you can understand Mandarin, you can take a look at this video,where Jackie mentions about this movie very very briefly: http://v.sohu.com/20090114/n261752471.shtml.

    The gala concert where Jackie was in took place on 14 Jan 2009. So, it’s likely to happen.

    Besides that movie, he also mentioned that he’s going to make Big Soldier Small General, in which he will act as a cowardice soldier. And, finally, he’ll make Xichu Bawang near the end of 2009, after the Karate Kid remake.

  • http://myspace.com/eldominicanito3000 Manny77

    No, no ,no, c’mon as Mr. Miyagi, that is terrible, come on Chan there’s got to be better role for you out there, you have your legacy, don’t take on somebody else legacy, besides The Karate Kid weren’t even good movies, as a true fan of Chan, I’ll be very disapointed if he take the role, if he can find good roles in hollywood go back to China, I’m sure there’s thousend of good projects just waiting for him, I’m sure am not the only one but I will love to see him go back to his roots and make a few good old school Kung Fu movies.

  • DavidB

    As far as Jackie playing Mr Miyagi, that would be cool, but Manny77 is right, Mr Miyagi was Pat Moritas Legacy and Jackie would not be right for it, But Manny77 your crazy if you think that all of the Karate Kids werent good. Theres a reason the first Karate Kid has a 89% Rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an Average of 4 1/2 out of 5 Stars after almost 150 Reviews on Amazon.com

  • http://www.myspace.com/stevenmillan Steven Millan

    As everyone knows:all remakes in this deacde aren’t even true remakes to begins with,for I’m sure that this new “Karate Kid” will be a much different beast from the original,and having Jackie as a Miyagi-esque teacher/mentor will be an interesting role for him to play(considering that he’s best known for his stuns-heavy action comedies).

  • http://myspace.com/eldominicanito3000 Manny77

    For me, the Karate Kids movies don’t do anything as far as martial arts go, they may be good drama movies with a little bit of fighting, other then that there’s nothing special about them, if I want to see good karate on a film I’ll just watch Sonny Chiba’s Street Fighter movies. And like I said before JC should stay out of the the Karate Kid, oh and one more thing who the hell is Jaden.

  • WuxiaFan

    I can’t see JC in this role. The original Karate Kid is an absolute classic and does not need a remake.

  • 107

    When I need a change from the original – I simply select another language track –

    wax on, wax off, in Russian….

  • big green

    The very thought of jacky chan doing this movie makes me sick. I believe he should stick to what has made him great and that is action. To much comedy and the world will not take him seriously. Besides, I think the world needs to see a true martial artist kick butt, not some high flying, non fighting, actor displaying what he thinks is kung fu but in reality is nothing but hot garbage, like the dragonball trailer. love chow but that movie is another D.O.A, like jackies last couple of movies.respectful to the chan but please take us back to the days of dragonfist. #1 fan for life

  • kev

    in one word leave the “ORIGINAL” alone stop trying to do all these remakes makes me mad

  • remo

    “The very thought of jacky chan doing this movie makes me sick. I believe he should stick to what has made him great and that is action.”

    I don’t have a problem with it, he can’t keep doing straight action flicks forever. Do you really want to see him jumping off buildings when he’s 65? At some point he’s either going to have to A) branch out into different types of roles or B) stop acting.

    As for remakes they’re a safe bet for the studios with a built-in audience, so they’re not going away anytime soon.

  • Robotech_Master

    The funny thing to me with everyone complaining about Jackie Chan being in this movie is that the original Karate Kid was itself basically a Jackie Chan movie plot. Kid gets in trouble, is taken in by wise older mentor who teaches him to kick ass, and wins in the end with the signature move the older mentor taught him? Drunken Master, Fearless Hyena? In fact, I seem to recall that at the time Karate Kid originally came out, Chan was quite upset because it was exactly the kind of movie he wanted to make for another American debut, and he felt like this meant he’d missed his chance.

    I agree that the whole Chinese actor/Japanese role, Kung Fu vs. Karate thing has been annoying for a long time and Hollywood should really know better. But apart from that, what’s the problem?

    Jackie has already started taking on “older mentor” roles. New Police Story, Forbidden Kingdom? (Heck, you could call Forbidden Kingdom a partial remake of Karate Kid as it is. It’s just got all those Wizard of Oz elements tossed in as well.) Oh, and his buddy Sammo Hung has been playing Ancient Masters for quite some time (the original Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain, for instance), and they’re the same age.

    (Karate Kid has already been remade at least once anyway, though they didn’t try to call it that. It was called Sidekicks, starring Chuck Norris, and that kid from SeaQuest DSV, and the late, great Mako in the Miyagi role.)

  • Kaz

    Props @ Big Green's comment [Besides, I think the world needs to see a true martial artist kick butt, not some high flying, non fighting, actor displaying what he thinks is kung fu but in reality is nothing but hot garbage].

    Hahahahaha! awesome.

    And I gotta say…justin quizon's got a good f#$%$ing point. Kung Fu ain't Karate, damn it! Isn't there any good Karate movies anymore? Are we all F#$@%ing doomed to watch Kung Fu movies up our asses? Don't get me wrong, I love Kung Fu movies, but damn.. f#$%@ off.

    Chan – word to the wise… If you wanna promote Chinese culture – don't do it in a movie called “Karate Kid”… change the name to Kung Fu Kid and all this bitchin will end. Trust me. :)