Reaction was split last week after it was announced Dwayne Johnson would star in Fox’s remake of Big Trouble in Little China, with many fans of John Carpenter’s 1986 cult classic unhappy about the idea of a new spin on the material. Not that Johnson himself expected anything less.
“I loved reading the reactions from the fans, that they were so polarized – I’m the same way,” the star told EW at Saturday night’s taping of the Spike TV Guys Choice Awards. “My response is: know that I come to the project with nothing but love and respect for the original, which is why we want to bring on John Carpenter.”
Which is, as Johnson said, “your mic drop”: While Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (X-Men: First Class) are attached to write the Big Trouble in Little China script, Johnson wants Carpenter – who directed the original and co-wrote its score – to have involvement in the remake as well.
“I loved the original when I was younger and I loved the main character – all the characters,” said Johnson, who will fill the role Kurt Russell played in the earlier film. “It felt like if we surrounded ourselves with the right group of people, the right writers who loved the movie too and wanted to honor it, bring on John Carpenter in some capacity … If we did that, then we have a shot at hopefully making something good.”
While the pieces are settling into place, many details – like the story – have yet to be determined. Johnson said these initial stages are “the fun part,” and even suggested that Russell would be brought into the conversations as well.
“Let’s see what feels good, what we can come up with and then go from there,” Johnson said. “And as we write it, if the whole thing starts to stink up, then we thank everybody for their efforts and accept this just couldn’t make it.”