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Will Smith Remakes 'The Karate Kid', Minus Ralph Macchio

by Jarrett Martineau | November 11, 2008 at 10:48 am

449 views | 8 Recommendations | 1 comment

It's time to "wax on, wax off" all over again, kids.

That's right, The Karate Kid is being remade by Will Smith — minus the participation of the original Kid (Ralph Macchio) and the legendary Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).

Instead, the film will star Will Smith's son Jaden Smith and will be set in Beijing instead of California.

At this point in Hollywood's history, seemingly nothing is sacred. What's next, a full franchise remake of the American Ninja series?

According to Variety, the father-son team is on hand to craft an updated version of the 1984 blockbuster 'The Karate Kid.' The duo shared the screen in 'The Pursuit of Happyness.' This time around 10-year-old Jaden will star, while his father will produce alongside original franchise developer James Lassiter.

The movie will be set and filmed in Beijing -- unlike the original, which took place in California. The basic plot, however, will be the same: a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

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tjgrz11

at 14:48 on November 19th, 2008

I'm really getting tired of people "remaking" classic movies. It doesn't help that I can't stand Will Smith. He's been in a few good films, but lately everything he's in is just horrible. Him getting his hands on this project just make me dispise him even more.