Variety reports that a Korean company is planning a $50 million dollar Kung Fu extravaganza featuring the martial arts superstar himself, Bruce Lee.  The actor, who has been dead for 28 years, will be 'recreated' for his new role by computer technology.  The new film, which is entitled Dragon Warrior, will be the first ever theatrical feature with a digitally recreated character in a major role.  Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, the hyper realistic, computer animated science fiction film that debuted this summer demonstrated the increasing ability of computers to create life-like human forms (see 'Is It Real Or Is It Final Fantasy').  Now the Korean company ShinCine has acquired the rights to use Bruce Lee's image from Concord Moon, the company that represents the late actor's estate.  Dragon Warrior will be the first ShinCine feature film produced in English and destined for North American as well as Asian markets.

If Dragon Warrior were a film starring Humphrey Bogart or Gary Cooper, it would be a curiosity, but it would be of only marginal interest to pop culture retailers.  Bruce Lee, however, makes this a very different matter.  Ever since he was introduced to American audiences as Kato in the 1966 TV series The Green Hornet, Lee has been a cult hero with a devoted following.  Lee's major feature films, Fists of Fury, Way of the Dragon, and Enter the Dragon had an immense influence on U.S. pop culture, spawning a 'Kung Fu' boom, which included television series, and comic books (Master of Kung Fu) as well as numerous other martial arts films.  Bruce Lee's son Brandon, who also died at an early age as the result of a tragic accident, also became a cult star during his meteoric career thanks to his performance in The Crow films, which were based on comics by James O'Barr.