Nobody was more surprised by how good The Karate Kid was than me. It seemed like a disastrous idea, remaking the beloved 1980s Ralph Macchio classic and using that tater tot Jaden Smith of all people? Jackie Chan as Mr. Miyagi? Nah, no way. Not only did the film get all the emotional beats of the original just right, but it went on to score over $55M in it's opening weekend alone. A sequel was all but assured, and not long after Sony hired Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reif(Kung Fu Panda) to start cranking out the script.
Then it was like the film fell off the face of the earth. Nothing was heard about it until now, as Variety reports production is being geared up again with Zak Penn hired to pen the script. It's not confirmed, but I'm guessing he'll be working on a totally new script and ignoring anything done by the previous writers. Penn has become one of the go-to guys for superhero flicks, having written Elektra, The Incredible Hulk, and X-men: The Last Stand. Yikes. Most recently he created the SyFy Channel original series, Alphas.
Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan aren't signed yet but are expected to return. There's also been no word on the previous film's director, Harald Zwart.
