Theclassic Kung Fu TV seriesstarring David Carradine is getting a female-led reboot at The CW. Inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, the new series is the result of a new collaboration from theBlindspotteam of writer Christina M. Kim and creator Martin Gero. In addition to writing the newKung Fuseries, Kim will also be executive producing alongside Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Warner Bros. TV. Kim and Gero are representing Gero’s Quinn’s House Production Company, while Berlanti and Schechter are working under their Berlanti Prods. Banner.
Additionally, a plot outline for the upcomingKung Fu reboothas also been revealed. While it may have some inspiration from the original TV series, its modern take on the story will have many differences compared to the 1970’s iteration, especially with agender-swapped lead. The new series will follow a young Chinese-American woman who drops out of college to go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. However, when she finds her hometown overrun with crime nad corruption, she must use her “martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice… all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.”
The originalKung Fuseries first began airing on television in 1972. It starredKill Billstar David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman. After killing an Emperor’s nephew in retaliation for murdering his mentor, Caine flees to the United States to seek out his family roots. The series concluded in 1975 after airing over 60 episodes, but the franchise would later continue with the 1986 movie follow-upKung Fu: The Movie, which brought back Carradine as Caine. In 1987, a pilot was filmed for a new TV series dubbedKung Fu: The Next Generation, though it failed to be picked up. A more successful TV series reboot was introduced in 1993 which brought Carradine back to the franchise one last time, withKung Fu: The Legend Continuesrunning for four seasons and 88 episodes.
Since the conclusion ofThe Legend Continuesin 1997, theKung Fufranchise has been inactive, though there have been multiple attempts to revitalize it in the years since. It was reported in 2006 that a newKung Fumovie was in development, with the idea that it would serve as a prequel to the original series. Over the next several years, Max Makowski, Bill Paxton, and Baz Luhrmann had all been in talks to possibly direct the planned movie, though the project never came to fruition. More recently, two more attempts to resurrect the series as afemale-led reboothad also been planned for the past two seasons on Fox, though neither project went to pilot. Finally, the franchise will live once again courtesy ofThe CW.
It’s not clear at this time when production will begin or when we can expect to see theKung Fureboot premiering on The CW. Hopefully we’ll find out some more information soon, and for fans of the original series and its follow-ups, let’s hope the reboot will do the franchise justice. This information comes to us fromDeadline.
