It’d been rumored for months now, but it looks like The Green Hornet will be taking flight without Stephen Chow.

Seth Rogen’s project certainly has had its fair share of road bumps, and now it’s hit a doozy. Chow was first slated to both direct the film and play the martial artist sidekick, then he was just going to act, and now he apparently won’t be involved at all. Initially, when Michel Gondry was brought on to direct, it seemed pretty optimistic that they would retain Chow for the role. However, now it looks like those scheduling conflicts from before just couldn’t be ironed out. SpoilerTV has come across the casting call for Chow’s replacement, and it looks like they’re not even looking for someone with a martial arts background:

[KATO] ALL ASIAN ETHNICITIES, Male, 20’s – early 40’s. Brit Reid’s manservant/chauffeur by day and Green Hornet’s martial arts-skilled sidekick by night. Actor doesn’t have to have Martial Arts experience

Honestly, I can’t even fathom who would be a fitting replacement for the actor. Chow’s particular brand of action-comedy is fairly unique at the moment, and I’d say the production will be pretty hard-pressed to find someone that fans could warm to as much as they did to Chow. That said, I’d rather they cast a comedian who can fake some moves (hey, if Seth Rogen can do it…) than a martial artist who will try to fake some comedy.

Who do you guys think would make a good Kato replacement?

Tags: Michel Gondry, Seth Rogen, Stephen Chow, The Green Hornet