The story of Kung Fu is likely to go on, as Fox has given a put pilot commitment to a re-telling of the classic martial arts western, which starred David Carradine and ran from 1972 to 1975. Per a report from Deadline, the retelling features a young Chinese-American woman who inherits her father’s kung fu studio, only to find that it houses a secret chamber where he dedicated his life to helping members of the Chinatown community. It will be executive produced by Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow), alongside Greg Berlanti and Warner Bros. TV.
It’s being speculated that the character of the father will be David Carradine’s Caine, the character from the original series who wandered the old west armed with only his spiritual, and physical, training. Though that hasn’t been confirmed at this point. Carradine sort of reprised the spirit of Caine by playing Bill in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies, before passing away in 2009.
This is the second adaptation of the classic 70s TV series, as a more straightforward attempt was tried last year, also at Fox. It would have told the story of Lucy Chang, a Buddhist monk and kung fu master who travels through 1950s America in search of the man who stole her child. The series did not end up getting a pilot order.
A put pilot, which is the deal the latest Kung Fu adaptation has, means that Fox has agreed to air at least the pilot episode of a new series, or face possible financial penalties, which all but guarantees it will be aired at some point.
