Green Hornet in film

From 1995-2008, numerous actors were either signed on to, or in official talks for, the roles of the Green Hornet and Kato.
Top row (left to right):
George Clooney, Greg Kinnear, Mark Wahlberg, and Jake Gyllenhaal were all attached to play the Green Hornet.
Bottom row (left to right):
Jason Scott Lee, Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Stephen Chow were all attached to play Kato.

Shortly after the The Green Hornet's creation in 1936, the series made the transition to film. Two popular film serials debuted in 1940 and 1941 respectively and, a generation later, the franchise found new life in a live-action television series. Although short-lived, the show garnered a dedicated fanbase and helped launch Kato actor Bruce Lee's ascent to super-stardom. Following Lee's untimely death in 1973, demand for films starring the actor was so high that several episodes of the television series were repurposed into a pair of feature films: The Green Hornet and Fury of the Dragon. While the Green Hornet then remained dormant as a screen franchise for some time in the United States, a number of unofficial Green Hornet films were released in Asia.

The success of director Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), piqued Hollywood's interest in similar characters, including the Green Hornet. A number of attempts to create an original live action film then followed, entering various stages of development. However, each of these projects would eventually stall, until the release of the 2011 film. Plans for a potential sequel to that film were ultimately scrapped, and Amasia Entertainment currently holds the film rights to the property, with plans to reboot the franchise.

Unrealized film attempts

1990's attempts

In 1989, Warner Bros. released director Tim Burton's Batman, which grossed over $250 million in North America, making it the highest grossing release of the year domestically. In 1992, Burton returned for the sequel, Batman Returns, this one-two punch led to a flurry of deal in which movie studios and production companies acquired the screen rights to numerous superhero properties. By October 1992, nearly fifty different live action films based off of comic books and comic strips were in various stages of development. That same month, it was reported that Leisure Concepts, Inc. (today known as 4Kids Entertainment) had acquired the rights to The Green Hornet and were in negotiations with Universal Studios to produce.

In September 1993, Variety reported that Chuck Pfarrer, the screenwriter of such films as Darkman and Navy Seals had turned in a draft of the script that the studio was pleased enough with that they'd decided to fast track the film. However, despite the studio's enthusiasm, Rich Wilkes was brought on to rewrite portions of it. In 1995, Robert Rodriguez got hold of a copy of Wilkes' draft of the script and passed it along to Clooney while the director and star were filming From Dusk till Dawn together. The initial plan was for them to reteam on The Green Hornet. In October, Variety reported that Clooney was close to signing on. Before the end of the year, Clooney was signed on to star as the Green Hornet, the film's financing was secured, and filming was set to begin in March.

In December 1995, months before filming was scheduled to start, George Clooney exited The Green Hornet to star in political thriller The Peacemaker, which would be the first film released by Steven Spielberg's new production company Dreamworks. Clooney's departure was described as "abrupt" and said to be based upon the fact that his hit television series, ER, was also produced by Steven Spielberg's television production company. Clooney's withdrawl was said to have caused a "major political tug-of-war" at Universal. Spielberg ultimately used his clout at the studio, he had recently direct Jurassic Park for them and was signed on for a sequel, to disengage Clooney from the superhero film. As a result of their agreeing to release Clooney from his contract, Universal was given distribution rights to The Peacekeeper in most foreign markets. The studio was described as having had high hopes for the Clooney iteration of The Green Hornet. Clooney was believed to have been paid $3 million for what essentially would have been his first blockbuster role. Moreover, his deal was a pay-or-play contract, meaning he would have received his fee even if the film had ultimately not gone forward. The studio was confirmed to have signed Jason Scott Lee, who portrayed Bruce Lee in the 1993 biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, for the role of Kato and were in talks with Sam Raimi, who was fresh off of original superhero film Darkman, to direct. The movie was to have begun that spring, and it was mentioned that Clooney could still star if the studio was willing to delay, but it was believed that the studio would seek a new actor for the title role in order to keep filming on track.

Shortly after his departure from the project, Clooney would sign on to star in Batman and Robin. In the following years, this would lead many retrospective articles to incorrectly state that he had departed The Green Hornet for the Batman role. The following May, Entertainment Weekly reported that Greg Kinnear was being eyed to replace Clooney. The at-the-time talk show host had recently co-starred in the Harrison Ford vehicle Sabrina, and there was widespread belief in the industry that he was destined to become a box office draw. Jason Scott Lee was also confirmed to still be signed on as Kato. It was speculated that the film would likely release in 1997, setting up the potential for a "TV star-turned-superhero showdown" between Kinnear in The Green Hornet and Clooney in Batman and Robin. However, it wouldn't be until the beginning of 1997 that Universal would finally sign on a director for the project in the form of French music video director Michel Gondry. The movie would mark Gondry's feature film debut and, in addition to directing, he was scheduled to oversee a rewrite of Wilkes' draft of the script. Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin who had produced the popular Die Hard franchise as well as recent superhero film The Rocketeer, were signed on to produce with Universal Senior Vice President Kevin Misher serving as executive producer. Jason Scot Lee was, once again, confirmed to still be signed on as Kato, but it was noted that there currently wasn't an actor attached to the title role.

2000's attempts

In March 2004, it was announced that director and noted comic book fan Kevin Smith had signed on to direct the film. That same month, it was reported that Smith had met with, and was hoping to cast, Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role. Although Gyllenhaal had yet to top-line a major hit at that point, he almost been cast as Spider-Man the previous year when it momentarily appeared that Tobey Maguire might not return for Spider-Man 2. At that point, there was no actor attached to the role of Kato.