Universal Pictures and Amasia Entertainment are partnering on The Green Hornet and Kato, which is currently in feature development.
Universal optioned the rights to the iconic characters, first created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker in 1936, after Amasia co-founders Michael Helfant and Bradley Gallo took control of the motion picture franchise rights in a highly competitive bidding war back in January.
The Green Hornet was one of early radio’s most popular adventure shows, predating Superman, before being turned into 1940s movie serials from Universal. A 1966 TV series, distributed by 20th Century Fox TV, followed, introducing Bruce Lee (Kato) to the United States. The story centered around Britt Reid owner/publisher of The Daily Sentinel.
Armed with knowledge from his sources, cool weapons, a supercar known as The Black Beauty, and teaming with his trusty aide Kato, Reid became The Green Hornet, a vigilante crime fighter wanted by the police and feared by the criminal world. Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen adapted, executive produced with the latter starring a 2011 action comedy of the IP for Sony which opened at No. 1 at the MLK box office with $40M and ultimately grossed close to $228M worldwide.
Helfant, the former President of Marvel Studios, and Gallo will produce the film for Amasia.
