Chow Abandons 'Green Hornet'

It seems Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry are learning a lesson that Kevin Smith learned some years back now. What is that lesson you ask? It is really hard getting a "The Green Hornet" film actually made! This week came startling news via Variety that Stephen Chow has stepped out of playing the role of Kato alltogether, leaving Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry without a jump-kicking partner for vigilante Brit Reid. This news weighs heavy on the production which was scheduled to start shooting in September. It is not clear whether Columbia Pictures will continue looking for someone else to play Kato, if the studio will postpone production for a later date or abandon the project completely.

There is only one name that jumps out at me who could potentially quickly replace Stephen Chow in order to keep a September start date. Rain, who played Taejo Togokahn in Speed Racer and can next be seen in "Ninja Assassin". Rain, is a unproven talent here in the States and could be a bit of a gamble. That said, considering he just finished another martial arts film, he would essentially already be in filming condition and could definately handle the fighting involved in the role of Kato. The question mark being, would he be able to handle the comedic angle that most likely is apart of Rogen's script? More news on "The Green Hornet" as it develops...

What say you? Will Columbia find a decent replacement? Who would you cast as Kato? Strikeback...