David Leitch Says Kung Fu Reboot with Donnie Yen Is in Development

Kwai Chang Caine’s return in the previously announced Kung Fu film adaptation is “in development,” according to filmmaker David Leitch. Leitch is busily promoting the upcoming release of his newest film, The Fall Guy, which stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. And while speaking with Steve Weintraub at the SXSW film festival, Leitch revealed that “we’re making” the Donnie Yen-led Kung Fu film “happen.” Leitch said in an interview with Collider:

“I’m obviously really passionate about both those things. And you know, kung fu, martial arts is a huge part of my life, has been since I was a kid. I’m a huge fan of Donnie and his work and his films. And so the potential of that is really, really interesting. We’re in the development phase with Donnie, and it’s really exciting, and it just feels like a big international franchise potential with Donnie as Caine. So, I’m really excited about it, but again, it’s in development and we’re making it happen.”

Back in January, it was announced that Leitch would direct the upcoming reimagining of the 1970s television series, which starred David Carradine as Caine. Yen will take up the role of the skilled martial artist and Shaolin monk, who was originally developed by none other than the late Bruce Lee. But fate took a hand, and Lee never got the opportunity to play the character his Kung Fu concept gave birth to.

The Controversy and the Possibilities of Kung Fu

Originally developed as a TV show that took place in the Old West, The Warrior was initially developed by Bruce Lee and Fred Weintraub, who would go on to produce Lee’s crowning achievement in film, Enter the Dragon (1973). Unfortunately, according to writer and Lee biographer John Little, the martial arts star never really had a chance of being cast as Caine. The casting controversy swirling around the famed martial artist and Kung Fu was corroborated by Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, in her memoirs.

The show was eventually greenlit and then released in 1972 with David Carradine playing the lead role that was envisioned by Lee. Feeling slighted, Lee focused on his partnership with Raymond Chow and The Way of the Dragon (1972), which pitted Lee against none other than Chuck Norris.

Over the years, the original three seasons of Kung Fu paved the way for more installments in what started showing signs of a growing martial arts franchise. In 1986, Carradine reprised the role of Caine in the made-for-TV Kung Fu: The Movie. But in 1987, the controversy which once plagued Bruce Lee seemed to come full circle as the late martial artist’s real-life son, Brandon Lee, portrayed Johnny Caine in Kung Fu: The Next Generation. Unfortunately, the TV pilot was never picked up, but it did air via the CBS Summer Playhouse. And for four seasons from 1993-1997, Carradine reprised the role of Caine once more in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.

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However, Leitch’s modern-day Kung Fu would certainly have a supreme advantage over its predecessors thanks to movie theaters’ premium formats like IMAX, 4K, Dolby and AMC’s PRIME. And when Leitch was asked about the possibility of Donnie Yen’s untitled Kung Fu movie being shot in IMAX 70mm, the filmmaker said in the same interview with Collider:

“The palette of that world [and] the epic landscapes and the things that really lend themselves to IMAX are all sort of embedded in the world of Kung Fu from the original. And so that’s something that’s been sort of percolating in our heads. I’m not gonna commit to the IMAX cameras just yet, but it would be an honor always to use them because the format is amazing, and 70 millimeter is amazing. Haven’t had that opportunity yet.”