A 'Karate Kid' Remake with Will Smith's Son?!
Filed under: Sports, Sony, RumorMonger, Family Films, Remakes and Sequels
I guess it's more than 20 years old -- so, The Karate Kid can be remade fair and square. All of us who have fond memories of Mr. Miyagi and fond hatred of William Zabka can just forget it. Honestly, I don't know why anybody is even writing about that old movie anymore. It's dated, it's cheesy, it's done. Move on. To the redo, that is. According to IGN, Sony is set to revamp it's "classic" with help from Will Smith, who will produce through his company, Overbook Entertainment. Jerry Weintraub, who produced the original, is also reportedly on board for this one. As for the star? That will be little Jaden Smith, Will's 9-year-old son and co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness. I guess this time Daniel will really be needing his mom to drive him on that date.Okay, so I am somewhat joking above with all the fairness talk and implications that The Karate Kid is overrated. But I still anticipate a lot of protest, so I figured I'd kick off with a bit of the Devil's Advocate. Seriously, though, I do think there's no problem with this idea. Keep in mind they already pretty much did this once. It was called The Next Karate Kid. Oh, but it had Mr. Miyagi in it, you may whine, and he can't return for another installment, because he's no longer with us. Well, there are some who think the real Miyagi wasn't even in The Next Karate Kid, so there's that. So, here's how it goes in my mind: Jaden is not Daniel, there's nobody named Johnny (well, maybe Zabka could have a kid and he could be Johnny, Jr.) and Miyagi is replaced by a relative -- did he have a nephew in KKII? I don't remember. Who cares, let's make one up. Since this thing is currently out to writers, I hope they read this and take my idea. It's an obvious enough one that I won't sue. I swear.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-03-2008 @ 10:41PM
L W said...
The movie Karate Kid may be older than I am, but it stands the test of time.. Best movie ever made. It is my favorite movie. I don't think that it's outdated. It still deals with a lot of important issues kids still face today.. Haha I watch this movie about once a week.. And I don't like the idea of a remake. A new installment? Maybe.. Will Smith's son?? ....he's adorable, but i'm not sure.
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9-03-2008 @ 7:46AM
Paul said...
Honestly please please PLEASE!, DO NOT i repeat DO NOT make a re-make, leave the original alone it was the best movie ever made you will ruin the whole karate kid series, please leave karate kid alone, i don't mind it being a sequel but NOT A RE-MAKE! there only one Mr, Miyagi and one Daniel Larusso. Make a sequel but not a RE-MAKE, please i beg you!
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9-04-2008 @ 1:35PM
Galant said...
This article claims that the film will not be, and never was, happening - http://www.filmjunk.com/2007/10/17/will-smith-and-son-not-doing-karate-kid-remake/
Can anyone confirm which story is accurate?
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11-16-2008 @ 9:57PM
qiforce said...
Need any extras? We have a pool of kids that could help the project go smooth! We just won 12 awards with a few kids this past weekend! All those First Place trophies! Charlie Mack, Dallas Austin if You read this holler back! You know who it is!
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12-16-2008 @ 3:02AM
Kevin Preston said...
I watched the original when it hit the theters, it stands alone and doesn't need to be remade.
Will Smith is using his position to give his kids everything without them earning it. What parent doesn't do that?
Soon it will be, give me that part in the movie or I will call my dad.
There is no jelousy here, My oldest daughter will have her college paid for but her car and extra money she will earn on her own. It's called building character of which spoiled rotten kids that get what they want from rich parents turn out to be garbage. He will always be under his dads thumb.
As far as Karate Kid, it stands by itself and should have ended with part 2. They will probably hire James Hong for Mr. Miyagi.
As with all the current martial arts movies I suspect it will have the stupid slow-mo charlies angels/Matrix Karate moves and of course with every remake these days they change the main character to a black guy. In this case Will Smith probably bought the rights and most likely the entire studio as well as the state it's being filmed in just to give it to his kid.
KP
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1-08-2009 @ 6:27PM
Mike said...
Everyone I tell about the Karate Kid remake comes back with a, "huh??!"
I haven't met one person who thought this idea was awesome besides Will Smith and his company. For one, the Karate Kid is a classic and not just because we saw it when we were kids but because it is a GREAT story with awesome characters.
It is filled with iconic scenes and so inspired us that we:
1. practiced doing crane kicks on our little sisters
2. tried to heal our little sisters by rubbing our hands together to create heat (remember when Miyagi did that?)
3. thought wax on/wax off was so cool that we all asked our dad if we could help him wax his car and paint the fence. (don't even lie, I know you did).
4. frequently used those breathing exercises that Daniel did just before breaking all six pieces of glass in KK2.
5. tried to catch a fly with chopsticks
6. asked our mom if we could have a bonsai tree (the hardcore of us)
What I don't get is why say it's a remake of the Karate Kid at all. In no way does it help your cause. All it does is anger millions of people. IT WILL CAUSE RIOTS.
I love Will Smith and I enjoyed his and his son's performance in The Pursuit of Happiness but seriously, this is going to ruin Jayden's career. He will forever be known as the guy who ruined the Karate Kid.
And another thing, what does Ralph Macchio have to say about this? Interview. Interview. Interview.
So Will, stop remaking classics and please find a way to remake Star Wars Episode I, II, and III. It needs to be done, seriously.
I'm out.
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6-15-2009 @ 8:00AM
Kjell said...
This is an old topic, but I just need to reply :p
I'm with reaction number 9 of Mike...
Common I was born in 1990, when I was 8 I saw the movie on TV and went out washing cars to buy the VHS collection, afterwards I've put a hold on buying a computer to first buy the DVD box...
KK is one of the best movies ever made...
Ralph Macchio was and always will be the real KK.
Pat Morita was and always will be Mr. Miyagi, these are facts...
original KK 4ever!!!
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10-29-2009 @ 10:18PM
afrosamurai said...
Some of you geniuses should read this article and try to cure your ignorance.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2009/10/28/apop102809.DTL
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9-28-2007 @ 10:43AM
Joseph J. Finn said...
I refuse to admit that The Next Karate Kid exists.
(Coincidentally, "You're The Best" came on my iPod this morning, and I was wracking my brain trying to remember William Zabka's name.)
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9-28-2007 @ 11:08AM
KMF said...
Oh you're right, it's over-rated, and can be seen as kind of cheesy. But I watched it a million times on cable when I was a kid and even saw the KKII at the theatres a few times. That said, I don't know why they're still raiding the vaults as it were. Come on aren't these writers and producers smart enough to write an entirely NEW movie? Sure they can borrow from elements or the message of Karate Kid and call it an homage.
I'll play Devils Advocate and be a bit silly here too, so nobody get all upset, I'm only kidding and with much love to KK. If they must remake it, why not have Ralph Macchio play the new 'Miyagi'? People love a good cameo.
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9-28-2007 @ 4:40PM
E said...
I don't think KK was overated. The Next KK stunk. But do not bad mouth KK. How dare you.
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