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Big Trouble in Little China: Kurt Russell Probably Won't Be In Reboot
Big Trouble In Little China star Kurt Russell thinks he probably won’t be part of Dwayne Johnson’s forthcoming reboot. Big Trouble In Little China marked the fourth collaboration between Russell and John Carpenter, following Escape From New York, The Thing and TV movie Elvis. Big Trouble was way ahead of its time with its martial arts sequences, and the movie’s recurring gag is that the main character - Russell's tough-talking trucker Jack Burton - is really a dumb sidekick while his Chinese friend is the actual hero.
Big Trouble In Little China is a beloved cult movie now, but it bombed back in 1986. Fondness for the movie has only grown over the years, and it was announced in 2015 that Dwayne Johnson would be leading a remake. It’s since been clarified the movie will be more a continuation of the original, but despite Johnson once stating they wanted Carpenter’s input on the project, he hasn’t been approached. Carpenter came out against the planned reboot recently, too, stating the producers just want a recognizable title and don’t care about his original movie.
While Carpenter likely won’t be involved with Johnson’s Big Trouble In Little China, there was still hope Russell might make some kind of reappearance as Jack Burton. Jack is one of Russell’s favorite roles of his own, and he and Johnson worked together previously on Fast and Furious 7 & 8. It seems that won’t be the case, because in a new chat with USA Today, Russell states he "probably won’t be" in the movie, but he wishes Johnson and the crew good luck.
He's just a really good guy. I like working with him and if he's going to do it, he and his crew will hopefully be able to come up with something that I guess makes the title work.
Johnson’s Big Trouble In Little China has been in development for years now, and with the actor's notoriously heavy workload it may not move forward anytime soon. Russell could still be convinced to make an appearance between now and the time it starts shooting, and it would be strange to have a movie that acknowledges the original without Jack appearing. There's even a comic series depicting the adventures of an older Jack Burton, so they could be used as possible inspiration for his return.
It also feels like it would be to the producer's benefit to woo John Carpenter back to the project. The veteran filmmaker recently came back to the Halloween series to executive produce and compose music for the latest sequel, which was a huge hit. Carpenter's seal of approval - and maybe even a new music score - for Johnson’s Big Trouble In Little China would do a lot to ease fears about the project.
