John Carpenter Takes Big Issue With Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Big Trouble In Little China’ Sequel
Dwayne Johnsonis starting to make a habit of rebooting cult franchises with a shinier, brawnier semi-sequel. And after the massive success ofJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, it’s no wonder that he’s been eyeing another beloved film:Big Trouble in Little China.
Cast as the lead for the remake (ormaybe sequel?)back in 2015, Johnson has been pretty quiet about what theBig Trouble in Little Chinasequel will entail. But the director of the original film,John Carpenter, has a few choice words for the project.
After news of theBig Trouble in Little Chinaremake was met with some fan uproar, Johnson attempted to appease fans by saying that the project wouldinvolve John Carpenter in some capacity— but that seems like that won’t be the case.
In a round-table interview withCinemaBlendin anticipation of the upcomingHalloween, Carpenter slammed the newBig Trouble in Little Chinasequel:
“They want a movie with Dwayne Johnson. That’s what they want. So they just picked that title. They don’t give a shit about me and my movie. That movie wasn’t a success.”
It’s true that Johnson’s name carries big clout in Hollywood these days — just look at thehuge bidding warover a project that carried his name, a barebones premise, and nothing else. And it’s no wonder that Carpenter is so prickly toward sequels to his classic films: the sequels to and remakes ofHalloween, The Thingand others have only been blatant cash grabs that threaten to spoil the legacy of his originals.
As for his claim that the movie “wasn’t a success,” well, he’s not wrong there either. Carpenter’sBig Trouble in Little Chinawas a commercial failure during its original theatrical release, taking in only $11 million domestically. The pure ’80s schlock of the martial arts fantasy comedy was a little out there for mainstream audiences, but it has since become a cult classic.
But again, we haven’t heard a word out of the production forBig Trouble in Little China, except for a briefupdate from producerHiram Garciathis summer, who confirmed, “It is a continuation, and we are deep into development on that as well, and I think you’ll start hearing some things about that probably soon.”
