After surprising more than a few by turning a m. budget into 0m. at the international box office, it was no surprise that the successful 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, led by Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, would be getting a remake.
Frequent collaborators Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, whose credits include working on Kung Fu Panda and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, were hired a few weeks after the film’s release to start scripting the sequel, and now Variety report that Sony have hired Zak Penn for a rewrite.
Though no official deals are in place, both Chan and Smith are expected to return to reprise their roles, with plot details currently being kept under wraps.
Penn’s credits include an impressive array of action films, including The Incredible Hulk, Behind Enemy Lines, and X-Men: The Last Stand, so needless to say he’s a talented writer and sounds like a great choice by Sony to work on the script.
Smith is currently on the set of M. Night Shyamalan’s film, After Earth, starring opposite his father, Will Smith, the first photos from the set of which we caught just a few days ago. Chan’s latest film, 1911, sadly didn’t get a UK theatrical release, but will soon be released on DVD/Blu-Ray next month, on 19th March, which I can’t wait to see, even if it’s not on the big screen.
In case you missed the first film, which brought the younger Smith to the foreground as his breakthrough leading role, you can enjoy the trailer for it below:
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY8amUImEu0′]
