Is this really happening? Hot off the opening weekend success of San Andreas, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is currently in talks to star in the remake of John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China. Whaaaaat.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to Star in 'Big Trouble in Little China' Remake
According to The Wrap, Johnson is making a deal to star in a produce a remake of the cult classic for 20th Century Fox, to be written by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, the team behind X-Men: First Class.
Johnson would play all-American truck driver Jack Burton, who gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in San Francisco's Chinatown. The original 1986 fantasy/comedy/action flick was considered a dud, earning only $11 million at the box office, but has achieved beloved cult classic status over the last three decades.
Big Trouble in Little China is reportedly one of Johnson's favorite movies.
I don't know even know what to think of this. I love The Rock. I adore The Rock. You want to make a movie better? Just add more Rock. In the right circumstances, I think he actually make an awesome Jack Burton. And despite past gripes (see: Oldboy), I'm not even one of those cinephiles who automatically dismisses all remakes. But a full-fledged remake of Big Trouble in Little China is some seriously risky-ass business.
The crazy thing about the original Big Trouble, which presents itself on the surface as a big loud Asian chopsocky exploitation flick, white hero protagonist and all, is that Carpenter crafted a pretty damn great subversive little action/adventure tale, not least because Burton's sidekick Wang Chi, played by Dennis Dun, is the movie's real hero, and everybody but lunkhead Burton seems to realize it.
Big Trouble ingeniously walks a delicate line, but it's a damn miracle that the movie actually pulls it off.
I am not so confident that the remake will walk this line quite as delicately. Like I said, I love The Rock, but this has got me nervous. The script apparently isn't even written yet, so we'll have to wait and see. On the upside, there will hopefully be lots of roles for actors of Asian descent.
More here: Dwayne Johnson to lead Big Trouble in Little China remake
