For a guy who’s been dead for over a decade, Chris Farley has been dominating Empire’s thoughts today. Not just because his younger brother, Kevin, has been involved in the creation of David Spade’s new film, but because – somewhat incredibly – a sequel to his 1993 hit, Beverly Hills Ninja has just been announced.
Thankfully, ATM Motionwide, the company behind the new film, won’t be pushing the boundaries of taste by somehow incorporating Farley’s character into proceedings. In fact, this seems to be a sequel in name only, for the entire film will be shot in South Korea.
In fact, Beverly Hills Ninja 2 will focus on an orphaned boy who wants to be a ninja. When he comes to Hollywood to look for his real parents, he winds up involved in a crime and then has to stop the bad guys etc. etc.
If you’re wondering how that justifies the use of the Beverly Hills Ninja brand name (and there’s a sentence we never thought we’d write), well, the movie will be written and directed by Mitch Klebanoff, a writer and co-producer on the original. It remains to be seen if there are any further links.
Klebanoff has so far assembled a mighty cast, featuring The Hoff, Lucas Grabeel and Lin Chiling. And yes – it’s a mighty cast purely because of The Hoff’s presence.
But what’s really interesting Empire is the decision to shoot the film entirely in South Korea (we’re guessing that there might be some location in and around Beverly Hills, otherwise they might as well call it Clapham Junction Ninja). ATM, which is stumping up the cash (Sony, which produced the first movie, has US distribution rights to this sequel) is a South Korean company, and presumably it’s a lot cheaper to shoot over there, particularly in the current economic climate.
But in doing so, Beverly Hills Ninja 2 will become the first mainstream Hollywood movie to shoot entirely in South Korea. It’ll be interesting to see if any others follow suit over the coming years.