Prequels, Sequels & Remakes

Columbia Pictures is doing a “new version” of 1984’s The Karate Kid. Chris Murphy is writing the script for what’ll be a vehicle for Jaden Smith. Filming starts next year in Beijing. “While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.” [E: Because it totally won’t spit on the ‘80s fun of the original at all, and y’know, that last Karate Kid movie was just so awesome.]

Sam Worthington will star in John Madden’s action thriller Debt, a remake of Israeli movie Ha-hov.

George Millar’s Happy Feet 2 will film in Sydney Australia. It will take 3 years, and be done by new digital production studio Dr D.

Director Catherine Hardwicke on adapting Twilight sequel New Moon: “Well, here's the challenge. Book two is literally about twice as expensive as this one, because they turn into werewolves, and they go to Italy, and they do all these stunts. So this one definitely looked like when you add it up, OK, how much does it take to market a movie? $35 to $40 million. Took almost $40 million to make it. That's $80 [million]. Then another $40 [million] to make the more expensive one; that'd be $120 [million]. So this thing has to make way more than that before somebody'll really be able to afford to make it. So we don't know if it's going to do that. That would be quite extraordinary, to make that much money on such a low budget.”

Dolph Lundgren talks Universal Soldier 3: “’Absolutely untrue,’ Lundgren insisted, clearing the air with a surprise call to MTV News HQ. ‘I’ve met with the producers many times, and I AM the one resisting.’”

Director Darren Lynn Bousman hopes to start a Repo! The Genetic Opera sequel in 2009. "I would love to follow up Repo and finish the story, because it was conceived as a three-part movie. But I’m doing an action film next. I can’t say exactly what it is yet. It’ll be announced next week. But I’m doing a big action film next, which is really exciting.”