Chris Pratt has signed on to star in the American remake of 2016 Vietnamese action-comedy Saigon Bodyguards. Pratt will star alongside Chinese superstar Wu Jing, with Joe and Anthony Russo onboard as producers. The project is in development at Universal.
Ken Ochiai helmed the original film, which revolves around two bodyguards tasked with guarding an important heir to a fortune. It follows the classic action-comedy two-hander formula, with a straight-laced and serious bodyguard and a sillier goofball. Naturally, the two get into all sorts of shenanigans trying to guard the heir.
Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck (What Men Want) are writing the script, with the Russos producing via their AGBO Films production company, which also recently gave us the Netflix action film Extraction.
We’re used to Pratt’s schtick by now thanks to his star making turn in Guardians Of The Galaxy and his lead role in Jurassic World, but Jing is likely a new face to many western filmgoers.
He had a small role in The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, but is probably best known for starring in and directing the Chinese blockbuster series Wolf Warrior, which the Russos consulted on.
The reason many American studios stopped making comedies at the rate of previous decades was because of the emerging importance of international markets to box office success, and comedies typically don’t translate well. We’ll see if Saigon Bodyguards, being a remake and starring two big names from different ends of the globe, can buck the trend.
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