Dwayne Johnson knows that you hate his idea to remake John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China. He read the reactions online, and he has a genuine response to fans… while also acknowledging that they might be right, and the project could get shelved.
The Rock’s currently riding high on the success of San Andreas, which approached the $100-million mark at the box office over the weekend. But when speaking with EW at the Spike TV Guys Choice Awards on Saturday, The Rock addressed the fan backlash over a Big Trouble reboot, and revealed the ace up his sleeve. Said Johnson:
I loved reading the reactions from the fans, that they were so polarized – I’m the same way. My response is: know that I come to the project with nothing but love and respect for the original, which is why we want to bring on John Carpenter."
To write? To direct? Dwayne Johnson stops short of saying in what capacity he’d bring original Big Trouble in Little China director John Carpenter in, only stating that if he could somehow get the horror-meister involved, then they might have some chance of making something good. The Rock even goes one step further and tells EW that he’s also be open to approaching original Big Trouble star Kurt Russell, and getting him involved in the conversation. Now, my guess is that if Johnson got in touch with either man about possibly rebooting Big Trouble in Little China, their end of the conversation would be short, sweet, and to the point: "Don’t do it." But these comments do suggest that The Rock isn’t trying to cash-grab a nostalgia project, and is honoring his source material by reaching out to the founding fathers of the 1986 cult classic.
A remake of Big Trouble in Little China is a bad idea. A terrible idea. The original film is such a unique and unusual product of its era, and trying to recreate it is the cinematic equivalent of capturing lightning in a bottle. Even more so, The Rock is the complete wrong choice to play Jack Burton in a new Big Trouble. Kurt Russell’s anti-hero was a blue-collar everyman surrounding by supernatural beings. The Rock isn’t that. The Rock should be remaking They Live if he wants to play in John Carpenter’s sandbox. That makes more sense.
At the same time, The Rock does acknowledge that this is all in the planning stages, and if they realize it’s not a good fit, it’s never too late to pull the plug. He does tell EW:
Let’s see what feels good, what we can come up with and then go from there. And as we write it, if the whole thing starts to stink up, then we thank everybody for their efforts and accept this just couldn’t make it."
Want to see The Rock in action right now? Check out either Furious 7 or San Andreas. As for a modern Big Trouble in Little China, I guess we’ll believe it when we see it.
