KARATE KID Remake On The Way

It looks like producer Jerry Weintraub is going back to the mat, overseeing a remake of the 1984 coming-of-age-while-kickin’-ass film The Karate Kid. Weintraub, who produced the original as well as its three sequels, is teaming up with Will Smith and his production company Overlook Entertainment for the remake, according to a report at IGN.

In an entirely not-so-coincidental bit of casting, Smith’s 9-year old son (and Pursuit Of Happyness co-star) Jaden is attached to the project for the title role.

Normally, I’m not a fan of remakes, and am pleasantly surprised when my natural pessimissim towards them is proven wrong, such as in the case of the recent 3:10 To Yuma. But for this film, I’m strangely ambivelant, not being much of a fan of the original film. Still, I have reservations about Jaden Smith taking over the role from Ralph Macchio. Granted Macchio was 23 when he played the role of Daniel-san, but he was baby-faced enough to look like your average teenager. I think casting a pre-teen Smith is going to change a lot of the dynamic and drama of the film, not mention cut out the teenage love story.

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About Rich Drees 7271 Articles
A film fan since he first saw that Rebel Blockade Runner fleeing the massive Imperial Star Destroyer at the tender age of 8 and a veteran freelance journalist with twenty-five years experience writing about film and pop culture. He is a member of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle.
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