Stephen Chow Bows Out Of Director Duties On ‘Green Hornet’, Stays In As Kato

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 18, 2008

Stephen Chow in CJ7

Fan reaction was incredibly positive a few months ago when it was announced that Stephen Chow, of Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle fame, would be directing and starring in Seth Rogan’s big-screen update of The Green Hornet.  Well it’s time to temper that excitement by at least half…

Chow has walked away from the directorial duties on the film over, say it with me, “creative differences.”  He’ll reportedly stay on as the faithful sidekick, Kato, to Rogan’s Green Hornet.  Rogan and frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg c0-wrote the script and were thrilled when Chow came on board in his dual role.  The Columbia Pictures film was set to roll before cameras this coming spring, so the studio is looking to move fast in naming another director.

The Green Hornet started life as a radio program before becoming a popular TV series in the sixties.  The series starred Bruce Lee as Kato and Van Williams as the Green Hornet.  Van Who?  Exactly.  Did you know that in Hong Kong the show was actually marketed as The Kato Show?  Neither did I… thank you IMDB!

I was always more interested in Chow as the director than as Kato, so this is pretty crappy news.  Kato’s a very active role, and Chow’s up there in years so I’d prefer a younger actor in the role… Tony Jaa maybe?  As a director though Chow held greater promise.  A melding of his visual flair and use of CGI with Rogan and Goldberg’s comedy would have been awesome.

Who do you think would do The Green Hornet justice in the director’s chair?


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  • Yeah, I saw Rogen at a junket the other day, but saying "formerly pudgy" weakens my argument. =)
    I'm confident in Chow as Kato, but like you would have preferred him to stay on as director.
  • Wouldn't say I'm worried, just that we'd get more action out of a younger, more athletic martial artist. And Rogan's slimmed down quite a bit actually, but even before that he fought and flew around pretty nicely in Pineapple Express. Besides, he's only there for the comedy... Kato is supposed to kick ass.
  • hahahahaha. You're worried about Stephen Chow being a few years too old for the role of Kato? Then how the hell do you feel about Seth Rogen, pudgy comedian, as the Green Fuckin Hornet?
  • Hasn't the guy proven himself as a director enough to deserve the helm of a cool project like this? He could make a dozen more movies on his own and make more money and more of a cultural dent than most in Hollywood.

    I'm guessing you two are only worried because the vacancy leaves room for Judd Apatow to slide into the director's chair?
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