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In the most obvious piece of casting news since Mel Gibson was announced to play Riggs in Lethal Weapon 2, Samuel L. Jackson will be playing the Shogun of Harlem (aka Sho’ Nuff) in the remake of The Last Dragon. Kerry Gordy, son of the original’s director, Berry, is producing for Columbia Pictures along with the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA. Dallas Jackson (Uncle P) is writing the updated screenplay.

The Last Dragon is about a cool young dude named Leroy Green, a student of the martial arts who hopes to become the greatest martial artist in the known world (or at least New York City.) This accomplishment would earn him the title of, you guessed it, The Last Dragon, but it would also give him the Glow. (Which would be awesome if it stood for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, but alas…) In his quest for the title, Green faces off against nefarious end bosses including the Shogun of Harlem, a badass in bad shades that says “mofo” and commands an army of sycophants.

I have no particular love for The Last Dragon, but I do think a remake is a silly idea. The movie is an iconic cult film of the eighties that belongs in the decade that birthed it. It would be like remaking Xanadu or Better Off Dead. To make it fit into today’s world the entire essence of the movie will have to be changed.

Do you want to see a remake of The Last Dragon? Are you surprised that Samuel L. Jackson was cast?