Deadpool 2 director David Leitch is in talks to helm a remake of Bruce Lee’s iconic martial arts film Enter the Dragon. Released in 1973, Enter the Dragon solidified Lee’s reputation as one of the great martial arts stars of all-time. Tragically, Lee passed away from a cerebral edema just six days before the film’s release. Years later, Lee’s son Brandon would die tragically on the set of The Crow, leading to talk of a Lee family curse.
Bruce Lee’s stature, and that of his final and most legendary film, have only grown over the years. Warner Bros. has attempted on several occasions to recapture that magic by going forward with a remake, with directors Spike Lee and Brett Ratner attached at various times, but nothing has come to fruition. In 2009, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was supposed to be developing a remake for Warners entitled Awaken the Dragon but that project also came to nothing.
Now, it appears Warner Bros. will take another crack at remaking Enter the Dragon. Deadline reports that the studio is targeting action movie maven David Leitch to direct the project. Leitch is said to be in the very early stages of talks with the studio. A writer is also reportedly being sought.
Leitch began his film career as a stunt performer and later a stunt coordinator, working on such films as Jumper, Conan the Barbarian and TRON: Legacy. He made his directorial debut, uncredited, working alongside Chad Stahelski on the action-heavy Keanu Reeves vehicle John Wick. His first solo directorial effort, 2017’s Atomic Blonde, put Charlize Theron through the paces in a series of intricately choreographed, bruising fight sequences. Leitch’s franchise movie debut, 2018’s Deadpool 2, has lived up to the original by grossing $732 million worldwide. The red-hot director’s two already announced upcoming projects are the Fast and the Furious spinoff centered on Hobbs and Shaw and the video game film The Division.
The martial arts stylings of Enter the Dragon may come across somewhat cheesy today, but there’s no denying the special on-screen magic of Lee, an actor who combined fighting skill and movie star charisma in a wholly unique and inimitable way. Finding an actor to bring the same combination of talents to the screen will be a truly difficult task for Warner Bros. as they set out to remake Lee’s most iconic film. Deadpool 2 director Leitch, with his vast experience as a stunt coordinator and now as a director of highly successful action-heavy films, would seem like an ideal choice to head up the project.
More: David Leitch Interview: Deadpool 2
Source: Deadline
