The Wrap is reporting that 20th Century Fox is looking to remake John Carpenter’s cult-classic Big Trouble In Little China which starred Kurt Russell as Jack Burton. Newly crowned action star Dwayne Johnson is said to be in negotiations to play the new Burton, with screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz developing the remake’s script. The writers previously known for Thor, X-Men First Class, and the Power Ranger reboot.
Johnson had pitched the remake to Fox who holds the original rights, and will produce the film as well as star.
We were actually about to break this scoop as well over the weekend but our final source failed to respond in time, so we can clearly confirm a majority of what The Wrap is reporting here.
I think it would be best to have it’s creator involved mainly to help set the mythology of that universe for future films. Although, John Carpenter while one of my favorite filmmakers might want to distance himself entirely from the project. I also have no clue on his thoughts currently on the remake. We’ve seen what normally happens to to these remakes without some participation from the original filmmakers, and it’s usually sub-par or just re-hashing. A remake of Carpenter’s Escape From New York has been in development for years as well, but has had a tougher time getting into production, and we’re all trying to forget the prequel to The Thing.