There’s no question that Dwayne Johnson is a man who knows how to keep busy. After starring in three 2019 movies, The Rock recently returned to the big screen with Jungle Cruise, and he’ll next star alongside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot in Netflix’s Red Notice. Johnson also has Black Adam and DC League of Super-Pets lined up for next year, not to mention a number of other cinematic projects in development. Among the latter group is the new Big Trouble in Little China movie, and we finally have an update on how it’s coming along.
We first learned Dwayne Johnson would be leading a new version of Big Trouble in Little China back in 2015, and by 2018, it was clarified that this would be a sequel to the 1986 original starring Kurt Russell rather than a remake/reboot. However, updates have been few and far between since then, so Collider asked producer Hiram Garcia, who co-founded Seven Bucks Productions with Johnson, if the movie is still happening. Here’s how Garcia answered:
It’s still an ambition of ours but unfortunately there are complications that come with a legacy property like that which has so much attached to it from over the years. We have a really fun idea on what we'd want to do with it, especially since our goal was never to remake Big Trouble but simply continue it. Similar to what we did with Jumanji we would continue the story and make sure the original stands on it’s own since it means so much to us and fans all around the world. So needless to say we are still working on making that happen but as with any great project the road is not easy but we are sticking to it! We're going to figure out a way to continue the story of Big Trouble in Little China.
So Big Trouble in Little China is looking to follow in the footsteps of 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which Dwayne Johnson starred in alongside Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. While that movie existed in the same continuity as the original Jumaji from 1995, it could easily be enjoyed by folks who hadn’t seen the Robin Williams-starring flick and refreshed the property by transforming the eponymous game from a out-of-control board game into a video game. Clearly that approach worked, as Welcome to the Jungle was a critical and commercial success, paving the way for Jumanji: The Next Level to come out in 2019 and Jumanji 4 being developed.
Alas, evidently there are hurdles to getting this new take on Big Trouble in Little China off the ground, but Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia and the other creative minds involved aren’t giving up on it, whether John Carpenter, who directed the original Big Trouble in Little China, approves or not. The 1986 movie Kurt Russell’s Jack Burton helping his friend Wang Chi to rescue his fiancée from the ancient sorcerer known as David Lo Pan. Although Big Trouble in Little China is seen as a cinematic classic now, it didn’t enjoy as warm a reception in its initial release and only earned a little over $11.1 million at the box office.
Even if Dwayne Johnson and his team manage to starting making major headway on the new Big Trouble in Little China movie, then there’s the question of where it ranks in his list of priorities. Along with Jumanji 4, Johnson is attached to lead The King, produce a Scorpion King reboot and looking to make more Black Adam movies. Who knows, maybe Red Notice will even follow in the footsteps of The Old Guard and Army of the Dead (sorry, not you, 6 Underground) and score a sequel, thus requiring Netflix to do everything it can to bring Johnson back.
Obviously there are a lot more questions than answers right now, but as soon as concrete details about on Dwayne Johnson’s Big Trouble in Little China come in, we’ll let you know. For now, The Rock’s work on Jungle Cruise can be seen both in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access, and Red Notice’s Netflix premiere will follow on November 12.
