Twenty years ago, Steve Oedekerk released a parody of Kung fu cinema that forever warped my humor and elevated my appreciation for martial arts movies. Kung Pow! Enter The Fist dominated the schoolyard conversation in my youth, but now it’s a movie I only hear talked about on rare occasions. It’s mainly me bringing it up, and usually the people I’m with either joyously remember the movie or have no clue what I’m talking about.
It’s a shame for the latter crowd who never had a chance to witness the cinematic masterpiece that is Kung Pow! Enter The Fist, and an even greater shame we never got the sequel teased at the end. Now I’m hoping to manifest its existence in 2022 and explain all the reasons why we need a sequel 20 years later.
Kung Pow: Enter The Fist Already Teased A Sequel After The First Movie
Not only does Kung Pow! Enter The First deserves a sequel, quite frankly it owes me a sequel after the promise of one in the final moments of the first movie. For those who don’t remember, Kung Pow 2! Tongue of Fury teased alien tongues were going to invade France, thousands of people were after Chosen One and even that dude who had a hole punched through him survived his injuries. Frankly, I thought he was a goner, but I guess when you get hit so hard that it comes out in a solid chunk without organs, someone can survive that sort of thing.
As a pre-teen at the time, I fully believed Kung Pow! Enter The Fist’s sequel announcement was a legitimate promise and would 100% happen. My father later served me a dose of reality, noting that another one of my favorite comedies at the time, History of the World, Part 1, also teased a sequel at its end. The difference between the two was that Mel Brooks’ movie was much older and, of course, didn’t have a sequel at the time. As such, it seemed like Kung Pow 2 wasn’t an actual thing, and I should let the dream die.
For a while, I did let the dream die, but then came some wonderful news in October 2021 via Variety. History of the World scored a sequel at Hulu, thus reinvigorating my hope that Kung Pow! Enter The Fist will see another installment. Months later, I’m still riding that high and hoping Wimp Lo might somehow survive after all.
Steve Oedekerk Is Still Willing To Make A Sequel And Beyond
Director and star Steve Oedekerk (who worked with Jim Carrey on Ace Ventura 2) revealed in March of 2022 (via Honk If You’re Horny) that his original plan for Kung Pow was for it to be a trilogy. It’s a dream he’s still willing to make happen, but now it seems that the rights to the original film belong to Disney. Keep in mind that I just mentioned how those with a Hulu subscription will get to see a sequel to a Mel Brooks classic, so is it possible the streamer can do the same with Kung Pow?
If not, Oedekerk offered the alternative idea of creating a spiritual successor to the Kung Pow movies. In short, the premise would be to dub over different genres of films like Spaghetti Westerns (he should hit up Quentin Tarantino for suggestions) or something else of that nature to keep the franchise alive if it’s impossible to keep Kung Pow going. It's not necessarily a compromise that I’m thrilled with as a long-time fan of Kung Pow, but also better than nothing.
In a world where Hollywood is ready to cash in on nostalgia and streaming services need content that will draw eyes, I feel like this is an easy decision. Kung Pow! Enter The Fist wasn’t a raging success at the box office by any metric, but it's thrived over the years on its reputation as a cult classic. It also doesn’t seem like it would be an expensive feature to make given the work that went into the first one, though I won’t jump to conclusions about the budget that went into making that CGI cow.
Kung Pow: Enter The Fist Would Thrive In The Modern Comedy Scene
I wouldn’t say that Kung Pow! Enter The Fist was a trailblazer that was ahead of its time, as some of its jokes are absolutely reminiscent of the times. What I will say is that in an era where low-budget comedy thrives on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, there’s certainly a market for it. Even Adult Swim, which is now a household name when it comes to surrealist comedy, wasn’t quite at the level that it is now. So I do think there is an argument to suggest the world wasn’t quite ready for the movie.
20 years later, is the world ready for a Kung Pow sequel? I’d like to think so, though I do wonder if Steve Oedekerk is able to step back into the shoes of Chosen One decades later. I will say that William Zabka and Ralph Macchio (who looks great for his age) had one hell of a comeback when they did Cobra Kai, so I don’t think anything is impossible. That said, if the world needs a new Chosen One to take on the next chapter, I’m all for seeing that journey too. Ultimately, I’m just trying to see a movie that meant a lot to me in my youth get another installment, especially when I can rarely find the original available to stream for free on services.
Speaking of Cobra Kai, people who grew up in the '80s get constant callbacks to things they were nostalgic for and can easily find those '80s franchises on streaming. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting on my karate film from my childhood to get its shine, and millennials still have yet to get their due. I don’t want to wait another 20 years for it to happen, so hopefully we can see this sequel happen soon.
Kung Pow! Enter The Fist is available to purchase on Amazon Prime Video and other platforms like Apple TV and Vudu. Any fans feeling nostalgic should certainly revisit it in the modern era, and perhaps if enough interest is drummed up, we’ll finally see some progress happening towards that sequel finally happening.
