Chow Out; Chou In as Green Hornet's Kato

Well that didn't take long. It's only been a couple of weeks since Stephen Chow officially left the much maligned Green Hornet film for good. Chow was initially director of the film, then left that over creative differences but stayed on in the role of Green Hornet's sidekick Kato. Then as expected Chow took a powder from that role, and almost immediately the studio was holding open casting calls to take over the part. Now it's been confirmed that they've found their man, and it's Taiwanese singer/actor Jay Chou.

Chou is relatively unknown here in America but he is probably most recognizable from his role as Prince Jai in 2006's Curse of the Golden Flower which co-starred Chow Yun Fat.

I remember Chou from Curse of the Golden Flower, but not much else. Even there it was obvious the guy had talent but that film was very operatic and light on the humor. It remains to be seen how he makes the transition to something wildly different from his previous roles.