Jackie Chan to play Mr. Miyagi – - Will Smith’s son as Karate Kid

Jackie Chan is in talks with Columbia Pictures to star as Mr. Miyagi in a remake of “The Karate Kid,” a spokesman for the Hollywood studio said Thursday.

The youth needing mentoring will be played by Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, who starred alongside his father in “The Pursuit of Happyness” and appeared in the Keanu Reeves sci-fi movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

The plot of the remake will mirror the original, with Chan being eyed to play a mentor who helps a youngster stand up to bullies—a role similar to Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 film.

The setting has been changed to Asia from California, with shooting due to start in Beijing this summer, according to Hollywood trade publication Variety reported Wednesday.

The movie will be a co-production with state-run China Film Group, which would allow Columbia to bypass China’s annual quota of 20 film imports on a revenue-sharing basis.

Chan, who juggles careers in Hollywood and Chinese-language film, has been shooting the American film “The Spy Next Door,” an action comedy about a Chinese spy working in the U.S. who loses his cover.

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