‘The Karate Kid’ with Jackie Chan

The iconic role of Mr. Miyagi in the classic 1984 film “The Karate Kid” will be revived in the modern world by Jackie Chan. The stern yet kind-hearted teacher was previously played by Pat Morita alongside his eager student portrayed by Ralph “Danielson” Macchio. Though Chan would be starring in the same lead role made famous by Morita, his character would not be named Mr. Miyagi but instead Mr. Han.

When Chan was interviewed during the premiere of “The Spy Next Door”, he promises to deliver a glimpse of the dramatic side of his performance saying, “Me, [I am] never happy-go-lucky the whole movie”. He continues into a more in-depth explanation stating, “[I am a] master with the white hair, and I walk like this, and even speak slow. Crying, heavy drama. You can see everything. ‘Karate Kid’ is adult; also for the children, but more older adult. ‘Karate Kid’ is different”. He boldly emphasizes at the end of his statement, “You can tell ‘Karate Kid’ action [is] totally different than this action.”

Chan’s recent projects have observably been focused on rotating between family films and dramas with his 2008 projects “Kung Fu Panda” and “The Forbidden Kingdom”. His success however is concentrated on broad comedies such as “Rush Hour 3”, “Shanghai Knights”, and “Around the World in 80 Days”.

Chan confirms this noticeable pattern saying, “That’s what I am planning to do: one children’s [movie], one heavy drama. The next one, probably I will do ‘Indiana Jones,’ happy-go-lucky, lot of action, happy action. I have been planning it for so long.”

Aside from Chan, “The Karate Kid”, which arrives on theaters on June 11 would also feature Will Smith’s own son, Jaden Smith. Chan works triple duty for this film as star, action director, and stunt coordinator.

Compared to his upcoming action-drama, Chan meanwhile offers a different style of action aimed at kids in his recent “The Spy Next Door” hitting theaters on January 15th. As an actor he is also aware of the style difference based on the genre saying, “I think I have been doing this kind of light action for so many years, I can tell what kind of movie for what kind of audience. When I do ‘Rush Hour,’ I know what kind of action. Children’s movie, a different kind of action and different kind of humor. I think I am good in this kind of thing.”