Dwayne Johnson stirring up Big Trouble in Little China remake

The Rock, currently starring in San Andreas, is eyeing the lead role in a new version of the John Carpenter martial arts classic originally starring Kurt Russell

Ready to rock? ... Dwayne Johnson. Photograph: Imaginechina/REX Shutterstock

Dwayne Johnson is tipped to star in a remake of John Carpenter’s cult hit Big Trouble in Little China, according to the Wrap.

Carpenter’s original tells the story of Jack Burton (Kurt Russell), a trucker who enters a mystical world of ancient sorcery after his fiancee is kidnapped by bandits in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The film flopped on release in 1986, with Carpenter blaming its failure on 20th Century Fox’s rush release. It has since gone on to achieve cult status, with Johnson, currently starring in the box office-trembling earthquake movie San Andreas, a high-profile fan.

Final say on the status of the remake lies with 20th Century Fox, who owns the rights to the movie. The studio is currently wrangling with a remake of another John Carpenter classic – Escape from New York. The film again starred Kurt Russell, this time as Snake Plissken, a special forces soldier tasked with saving the president from a terrorist group in a near-future dystopian America.