How much Kung Fu is too much Kung Fu? In addition to the recently-announced gender-swapped TV series reboot of the 1970s hit Kung Fu, there now comes news that an unrelated film reboot is also on the way.
David Leitch, the director behind Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, and Hobbs & Shaw (and the uncredited co-director of John Wick), has signed on to direct a Kung Fu reboot movie for Universal Pictures, according to Deadline. Little was revealed about the film in the report, with the exception that it will take place in the modern-day and therefore will not have the Wild West setting of the original series. While the change of setting may be disappointing to purists of the franchise, it’s hard not to be excited about the prospect of Leitch directing the film. The stuntman-turned-filmmaker is arguably the best action movie director working today, so it definitely excites us to think about what he could do with an iconic martial arts franchise.
It’s unclear what effect the new film will have on the upcoming TV series, which is also set in modern times. That series is a Warner Bros. production, and Deadline mentions that Universal has picked up the rights to the series for their new movie. Does this mean Universal has picked up all rights to the series, or just the film rights? We haven’t heard anything about the Warner Bros. series being canceled, so for now, it sounds like both of these modern-day Kung Fu reboots will coexist. One advantage the movie will have over the series, however, is the involvement of Kung Fu creator Ed Spielman, who is an executive producer on the film.
There’s no word yet as to when the Kung Fu movie will premiere — it doesn’t even have a script yet — but you can be sure we’ll let you know when it does.
