Obviously those of us who grew up with The Karate Kid films are pretty peeved that they're remaking the original with Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s little one) apparently in the lead role, once occupied by the awesome, angsty Ralph Maccio. Needless to say, when Jackie Chan was brought on to play the Mr. Miyagi mentor role, hardcore fans immediately wanted to crane kick the filmmakers since, ya know, their vibrant childhood memories were being assaulted by a new, hip 2009 version of a film they so desperately adore.
Today, however, we learn that folks want to change the name of the movie from Karate Kid to The Kung Fu Kid, perhaps to draw less negative attention to the flick. This comes from Jackie Chan himself who, while doing an interview with News3, talked up the name change. As a fan of the original Karate Kid, I’ll admit I was a little worried when I heard they wanted to remake it – but on second thought, I’m not as bothered as I once was since the original, while cultish, carries a pretty universal plot and didn’t exactly win a ton of Academy Awards. It’s The Karate Kid, not Casablanca, and we forget how the last two Karate Kid sequels were absolutely atrocious. So maybe it is time for a remake, and maybe the Kung Fu aspect will make it more interesting. After all, Karate – compared to Kung Fu – is kinda boring, don’t you think?
Where do you stand when it comes to the Karate Kid remake? Are you for it or against it, and are you hip to the name change?
