Big Trouble in Little China remains a staple of weird 1980s cinema, but it's also one of those action tales that never spawned a sequel. Fortunately, over the last few years, BOOM! Studios has been publishing comic book tales showing more of Jack Burton's crazy adventures, including a miniseries where Jack teamed up with Escape from New York's Snake Plissken, Kurt Russell's other popular '80s character. But now BOOM! is releasing what could be considered the closest thing to a Big Trouble in Little China sequel, as the latest series will reunite fans with Jack more than 30 years after the events of the original movie.
Written by Big Trouble in Little China director John Carpenter and Borderlands 2 scribe Anthony Burch, with Jorge Corona handling the illustration, Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack will explore Jack Burton's "final ride" in the Pork Chop Express. Taking place in the year 2020, it is literally Hell on Earth, and Ching Dai has declared himself ruler of all existence. The sixty-year-old Jack is living out his in a corner of Florida only talking to his broken ham radio, but one day that little gadget finally picks up a message, and it's from someone who knows how to defeat Ching Dai. With that new glimmer of hope, he'll jump back into action and set out to destroy the god that David Lo Pan tried to appease decades earlier. This will be an ongoing series, and according to Screen Rant, the first story arc will consist of four issues and see Jack reuniting with a "familiar not-so-friendly face" (maybe a resurrected Lo Pan?).
This plot description makes this sound like Big Trouble in Little China is being mixed with Logan, i.e. having the older protagonist leaving his private life behind to go on one last adventure. John Carpenter helping with the story is certainly a plus, so if you've been desperately wanting a follow-up to the 1986 cult classic or have simply been enjoying the other Big Trouble in Little China comics from BOOM! Studios, this sounds like something worth adding to the reading pile.
There are currently no plans to make a Big Trouble in Little China sequel movie, although given Old Man Jack's setting and Kurt Russell keeping a strong blockbuster presence through movies like The Hateful Eight, The Fate of the Furious and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, this comic book would also be a cool premise for a movie. However, there has been a Big Trouble in Little China remake in development since 2015. It's expected to star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the new Jack Burton, but there's been no recent update on its progress.
You can grab Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack #1 digitally or at your local comic book store starting in September.
