Warners subsidiary Legendary Pictures has spun the bottle of classic telly adaptations and is now lining up Kung Fu for a fresh round of development.
After years of trying to shove the show – which jump-started the career of David Carradine – into cinemas, the studio failed to get anything going and the rights reverted to series creator Ed Spielman.
Now Legendary has bought the rights from Spielman, while keeping him involved with the project by optioning a screenplay he penned with Howard Friedlander, who also used to write for the original show. Their take is a rebooting of the Kung Fu story, exploring the origins of noble warrior Kwai Chang Caine, who flees China after his master’s death and fights the good fight in the American West.
And eschewing the current trend for effects-laden martial arts spectacles, Legendary plans to keep things feeling realistic. Let’s hope they don’t expect Carradine to pull off the stunts himself.