The idea of remaking Enter The Dragon seems insane. Bruce Lee’s martial arts classic is considered one of the greatest of all time and stands as his final film appearance before dying ahead of its release. Enter The Dragon was the first major Hollywood production for a martial arts film and just has a lot on its shoulders as one of those films that likely shouldn’t be touched. Yet here we are, discussing the potential remake of the film at Warner Bros. with the director of Deadpool 2 attached.
According to Deadline, David Leitch is in talks to direct the remake and the production is now looking for a writer to step in. The news comes on the heels of the 45th anniversary of Lee’s passing and follows years of the studio attempting to remake the classic film:
John Saxon and martial artists Jim Kelly, Bob Wall and Bolo Yeung lent validity to the fighting scenes, and Kien Shih made a formidable villain in Han. Adding some of the sweep that existed in global thriller franchises like 007, the film expanded the template for martial arts movies of the period and it was a shame Lee wasn’t around to embrace it and the groundbreaking strides he made for actors of Asian descent, and continue a movie career that already bloomed in Hong Kong but was only just getting started in Hollywood…
Warner Bros has been trying to figure out a way to recapture the magic of the Robert Clouse-directed film for years, with filmmakers like Spike Lee and Brett Ratner developing versions of the Golden Harvest release. Leitch is an intriguing choice.
We can only imagine this would be the scene with fans if Brett Ratner had directed the film:
Leitch is an interesting choice according to Deadline due to his recent track record. Deadpool 2 was an entertaining and action-packed film, while his co-directing job with John Wick helped to spawn a trilogy not many saw coming at the time. He also directed Atomic Blonde which is worth your time for the fight choreography alone.
Still, this is Enter The Dragon. It had better be a damn fine remake with little bull involved if it even hopes to be respectful to the original. It might be a B-movie compared to other films, but it is still a diamond when it comes to the genre and the legacy of Bruce Lee. He was legit.
(Via Deadline)
