David Leitch may only have four feature-length credits under his belt as a director, but already the 44 year-old has established himself as one of the industry’s most reliable hands when it comes to crafting incredible high-octane action sequences. With John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw on his filmography, Leitch has made a hugely successful transition from renowned stunt performer into the director of action-packed blockbusters that appeal to both critics and audiences alike.
With his last two movies earning a combined total of over $1.5 billion at the global box office and also acting as the latest installments of popular big-name franchises, Leitch has likely gained some serious clout within Hollywood when it comes to picking and choosing his lineup of projects. Some fans have been hoping that he would take the helm of one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s upcoming efforts, but despite admitting that he’d love to direct the studio’s upcoming reboot of Blade, it’s been announced that his next trip behind the camera will see him tackle a modern-day remake of a cult classic 70s TV series.
Kung Fu originally ran for 63 episodes between 1972 and 1975 on ABC, with David Carradine playing the title role of Kwai Chang Caine, the orphaned son of an American father and a Chinese mother, who spends his life training to become a Shaolin priest and martial arts expert in 19th century China before traveling to America, with the episodic formula usually finding Caine wandering the Old West to help those in need and dish out some good old-fashioned justice along the way.
That synopsis alone should give you a good idea of what Leitch could bring to a big screen remake of the show, while also giving the filmmaker the opportunity to craft some martial arts-based mayhem after tackling a variety of cinematic carnage in recent years thanks to the gun-fu of John Wick, the superhero shenanigans of Deadpool 2 and the chrome-domed vehicular mayhem of Hobbs & Shaw.
The project is being set up at Universal, with no writer attached as of yet, but the thought of a guy like David Leitch tackling a remake of Kung Fu is definitely a tantalizing prospect, and no doubt self-proclaimed super-fan of the original series Quentin Tarantino will be watching this one closely as it develops, and might even actively pursue a cameo appearance.
