Well, this sort of came out of left field.
It’s being reported by The Wrap that we’re going to be getting a remake of John Carpenter’s classic ’80s East meets West action movie Big Trouble in Little China. Not only that but it’s going to be packing some serious star power in the form of Dwayne Johnson.
Johnson is currently in talks star in and produce the Big Trouble in Little China remake, which is being written by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who previously co-wrote franchise reboot/prequel X-Men: First Class, as well as the upcoming Power Rangers reboot.
Johnson has apparently shown passion in reviving the concept; not only is it one of his all-time favourite movies (me and The Rock have something in common, finally!) but he was the one who successfully pitched the idea for a new version to Fox (the studio behind the original) executives alongside his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany and Hiram Garcia. There’s no director mentioned as of yet.
If you’re unlucky enough to be unfamiliar with the original (and if you are, stop reading this and go watch it NOW), it centered on Jack Burton, an all-American trucker (played wonderfully by Kurt Russell) who gets caught up in an ancient mystical battle between good and evil forces in San Francisco’s Chinatown. It’s particularly iconic because of Carpenter’s unique style – including providing the film’s inimitable soundtrack – creature design, impressive (for the time) CGI and its singular self-awareness.
There appears to be no sign of Carpenter or Russell being involved with the new version and it’s probably just as well. I can’t say I was scrambling for a Big Trouble remake – especially with some of the generic remakes of ’80s properties we’ve seen as of late (*cough* Poltergeist! *cough*) but if they’re going to go at it then they should with fresh eyes and talent behind the camera. Here’s hoping it does the original justice as opposed to squandering it on something generic.
You can currently see Johnson on the big-screen in disaster epic San Andreas.
Source: The Wrap