'Green Hornet' Finally Finds His Kato

The search is over (and man, you’re relieved, right?) Columbia Pictures’ presidents Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach announced today that they have officially recast the role of Kato for “The Green Hornet.” And the winner is…… Jay Chou. The Taiwanese musician/singer/actor/producer/director beat out all other actors including Kwon Sang-woo. Columbia has been trying to recast the role since Stephen Chow left a month or so ago.

The ‘Hornet’ director, Michel Gondry, had this to say about his new star, “Jay is incredibly unique and charming and fights like a wild dog! When I filmed him next to Seth, they had such great chemistry, and I knew the movie will be great.” The chemistry between the two characters is probably going to be a major aspect of the movie so let’s hope he’s right. When asked about the role, Chou said, “It’s an overwhelming experience to take on a role made famous by Bruce Lee. I won’t try to be Bruce Lee’s Kato – I will try to bring my own interpretation to the part. Of course, it’s a dream role, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

That is probably the smartest (or at least most politically correct) response he can give at this point. Pretty much anyone that would try and fill Bruce Lee’s shoes straight up is destined to fail in one way or another. Let’s hope, for his sake, he does the role justice while also stepping out of the shadow of Lee. [DeadlineHollywood]