The Karate Kid gets a remake

It’s been 26 years since Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita came together on the big screen for that awesome feel-good hit “The Karate Kid” (1984). Slated for a summer release this year, Columbia Pictures will try to recapture the success of the original movie with a remake still called “The Karate Kid” (June 2010).

Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita as Mr. Miyagi

In the original movie, the role of Daniel LaRusso was made famous by Ralph Macchio. It was about a kid who had to transition from living in New Jersey to sunny Reseda, California.

Fun fact: If you remember well enough, a young Elizabeth Shue was in the original movie, who actually had to take time off from her studies at Harvard just to do the movie.

The new movie takes a similar approach, but the comparison ends there. Jaden Smith — best known for his role in “The Pursuit of Happyness” and for being the offspring of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith — now plays the role of Dre, the displaced kid. Only, they’re moving to China, not just California. Yep, sounds interesting, right? Let’s watch the trailer first.

As you can see from the trailer, Mr. Miyagi’s role is now taken over by versatile action man Jackie Chan. He plays the role of Mr. Han, the master who trains Dre in kung-fu and trains him up. Looking at the trailer, looks like Chan is bringing his expertise in action and stunt work to the movie. We just don’t know if he’ll get the same acclamation as Morita, who earned himself an Oscar nomination for the original movie.

Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith - the new Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is slated to be released on June 11, 2010. Harald Zwart (Pink Panther 2, Agent Cody Banks) directs for Columbia Pictures. This really feels like something for my external DVD drive, but we’ll see. Hopefully it captures the spirit of the original, which we will be watching again soon, because we have it on Blu-ray disc.