4:47PM, Jan 14, 2009
Martial Arts legend Jackie Chan is reportedly being lined up to play the role of Mr Miyagi in the new version of The Karate Kid. Chan looks set to join Will Smith' s son Jaden for the remake of the 80s classic.
Jackie Chan is currently in negotiotiations to play the legendary character of Mr Miyagi in the all-new Karate Kid movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The star looks set to play the role originally made famous by the late Pat Morita, who earned an Oscar nomination for his efforts, in a trilogy of movies in which he starred opposite Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso.
Morita also returned to the part for the final and forgettable installment, The Next Karate Kid, opposite Oscar winner, Hilary Swank.
If Chan signs on, he'll be tutoring Will Smith's son Jaden, who has already been cast as the bullied kid who finds help in the form of a wise old man, in what director Harold Zwart claims will be a very faithful remake.
Although at 11 years old Jaden Smith is far younger than Macchio was when he took the role in 1984 - Macchio was 23 for the first movie when LaRusso was aged 16 - the only other real deviation from the original's plot is the relocation from LA to China.
The movie begins shooting in Beijing later this year.
