RISE OF THE LAST DRAGON Reignites The Glow For Hopeful New ‘Fanimated’ Series
It was in 2008 when /Film’s Peter Sciretta followed up from a now-deleted THR post over plans from Columbia Pictures to remake The Last Dragon with Samuel L. Jackson carrying the torch from the late Julius Carry as notorious kung fu supervillain, Sho’Nuff. That report stood as one among any number of rumors since then and I can assure you this: bring this subject up with any genre fan with a serious conversational approach and you’re more likely to get dunked on and told by your peers to kiss their sneakers before long.
That’s the tone of the fandom these days. 34 years after the film’s release starring Taimak and also-late actress and singer Vanity, Michael Schultz’s low-budget cinematic labor, made and allocated at the lasting height of popularity in all of kung fu cinema, remains aged amply well and celebrated to this day. That’s not to say that the story doesn’t or shouldn’t get to live on somehow and assuredly, a sequel would be a great way to help achieve that. For this, we can apparently turn to one of the latest entries from The Last Dragon Tribute citing a batch of pitch teasers for an ambitious animated series titled Rise Of The Last Dragon.
Daeshaunn “DAETRIX” Delong and Fabienne Delong whose independent studio, WIARLAWD, is shepherding the “Fanimated” project, are out as of a few days ago with a casting call for voice talents to help fill the roles of Sho’Nuff and beloved music sensation Laura Charles. The report principally notes actors Taimak and Glen Eaton have expressed interest in reprising their respective roles of Harlem’s kung fu hero, Leroy Green, and Leroy’s pupil, Johnny.
The project is also being self-fueled with no current outside funding or investment to date. Thus, the Delongs have an official website currently running and hopefully it’ll be enough to help rally fans, as well as convince willing artists, animators and other talents to lend their craft to the cause. And honestly, regardless of how you feel about movies or how you feel about the prospects of continuing the cult-beloved urban kung fu fantasy adventure in some way shape or form, you can’t really knock these guys for trying.
The wheels turn slow in film and television, and even slower when you’re small potatoes traversing the indie scene to help sharpen your craft. The guys at WIARLAWD have found the means to take initiative to create something which, if the teasers are anything to show for it, both looks and feels honorable and worthwhile enough to build on and improve on with the right amount of production muscle.
So, there you have it. They wanna continue Bruce Leroy’s story and reignite the glow once more, and if you’ve got some talent to contribute to this labor of love, riseofthelastdragon.com is exactly where you want to be.
