Karate Kid Remake Now Kung Fu Kid?

By now you probably now that Will Smith is remaking “The Karate Kid” with his own kid as the star. You also know that Jackie Chan will play the Mister Miyagi character, and that the remake will take place in Beijing, China. And since Smith has gone out of his way to even call up the former Karate Kid himself Ralph Macchio for advice on making the remake, it stands to reason that the next thing to do now is to … rename the movie “Kung Fu Kid”?

The apparent title change comes out of Jackie Chan’s mouth himself, who was currently on foreign soil promoting his upcoming drama “The Shinjuku Incident”. Says Chan to 3 News:

Chan’s not ready to turn his back on Hollywood entirely. He has just shot The Spy Next Door, and confirmed he has signed up to “wax on wax off” as Mr Miyagi in the The Karate Kid remake.

“They don’t want to call it Karate Kid anymore,” he says. “They want to call it Kung Fu Kid.”

“Kung Fu Kid”, huh? But wait, maybe Chan is just being Chan again and talking without thinking. Entertainment Weekly dug around and found this out:

A rep for Columbia Pictures tells EW that, in fact, the film’s title has yet to be decided.

Maybe they should have told Jackie that. Then again, not that it matters. Most of the kids who go see this thing when it finally lands in theaters will never have heard of the original anyway, so the point is moot. They can call it “Will Smith’s Movie With His Kid” if they want.

But hey, at least it gives me the opportunity to post this, my favorite scene from the original. Remember, kids, you’re the best! … around.