Big Trouble in Little China Star Kurt Russell Addresses Returning for a Sequel (Exclusive)

Filmmaker John Carpenter has made a number of beloved genre pictures, many of which he made with actor Kurt Russell. One fan-favorite collaboration between the pair is Big Trouble in Little China, an experience that blended together humor, horror, fantasy, and adventure. While the adventures of Russell’s Jack Burton were continued in comic books, Russell recently confirmed he would be open to reprising the role, so long as the script for such a sequel surpassed the original. The actor even teased how he would get Carpenter back into the director’s chair. Russell can currently be seen in Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which debuts new episodes every Friday.

While speaking with ComicBook.com in support of Monarch, when asked about reprising Burton, Russell admitted, “Ya never say never. If somebody were to write a great script that was better than the first one, it had something new to say, I don’t know.” As far as how to get Carpenter to direct, the actor joked, “We could slap John Carpenter around a bit and say, ‘Come on, John, let’s go do this.’”

Even if we only got one live-action film in that world, even Carpenter knows the storytelling potential of Big Trouble in Little China, having previously teased it could make for a good video game.

When asked by ComicBook.com earlier this year about a film of his that would make a good video game, the filmmaker confirmed, “I don’t know. I think, maybe … Big Trouble in Little China, it seems to me would be a fun video game and kick ass. There’s also, by the way, a Thing card game. I mean, there’s a lot of these games. There’s actually a They Live game. I don’t know that there would ever be a Prince of Darkness game. I don’t see that.”  

The closest we have come in recent years to getting more Jack Burton are the reports that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was developing a reboot of the concept, though those reports have been unclear as to whether it would be a direct reboot of the source material, a sequel, or an adventure that merely captures the spirit of the original movie.

As fans wait for more Big Trouble in Little China, they can see new episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters when they premiere Fridays on Apple TV+.

Would you like to see Russell return as Burton? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!