Will Stephen Chow play Kato in 'The Green Hornet' movie?

July 10, 10:06 AMLA Asian American Movie ExaminerEd Moy

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Stephen Chow in Ku Fu Hustle.

Rumors that Cameron Diaz is in talks to star in Seth Rogen's upcoming The Green Hornet movie have surfaced in the past two days.

According to Entertainment Weekly, a deal has not been signed yet, but it’s being reported Diaz is in negotiations to be the female lead.

The Green Hornet has been described by Rogen (who co-wrote the screenplay with his Superbad and Pineapple Express writing partner, Evan Goldberg) as a mix of action and comedy.

The movie's release date has been moved to July 9, 2010.

According to Variety, the switch was made so that Adam Sandler's buddy comedy Grown Ups could be moved from a March 12 release date and into the summer movie season.

Sony will now release Grown Ups  on June 25, the date originally listed by the studio for The Green Hornet.

The Sandler comedy also stars Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade and Rob Schneider.

As for Asian movie star Stephen Chow's playing Kato in The Green Hornet, Comingsoon.net quoted Rogen as stating:

"He's kind of our mascot. (laughs) He may be Kato. I'm not 100% sure if that's the case, but it's a very likely possibility. I'm not sure. Honestly, we're kind of in the very early phases right now. We're just putting those elements in place so I'm being honest. I honestly don't know yet."

Chow was previously attached to direct, as well as playing the Green Hornet’s sidekick, Kato. 

Michael Gondry was announced as the new director in February, and according to MTV News, neither he nor Rogen have offered much in the way of details regarding the film. However, the director did tell MTV that he was hoping to provide "a cameo for original Green Hornet television series actor Van Williams, and has hinted that he’d like to explore the hero’s relationship to The Lone Ranger at some point in the film."

Rogen's The Green Hornet is just the latest big-screen adaptation of the superhero franchise, which was originally a radio program created in the 1930s, but later adapted into a 1940s movie serial and revived as a popular 1960s television series that featured Williams and martial arts legend Bruce Lee as Kato.

The Green Hornet follows the adventures of Britt Reid, a bored playboy who inherits his father's crusading newspaper, the Daily Sentinel. By night he is a masked hero, fighting crime with his sidekick, Kato, who has incredible martial-arts skills.