Scott Miller, known for his groundbreaking work as the co-creator of the Duke Nukem video game series and founder of Apogee Software and 3D Realms, has made public a fascinating tidbit from his past project proposals. In a recent revelation, Miller shared that he had pitched a video game concept based on the 1986 film "Big Trouble in Little China," directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell. This film, while a box office underperformer at its time of release, has garnered a substantial cult following over the years.
The film features the charismatic but clumsy Jack Burton, played by Kurt Russell, a truck driver who finds himself embroiled in a supernatural battle within San Francisco's Chinatown. The movie blends action, adventure, and comedy with a dose of supernatural elements, making it a unique cinematic experience and a ripe source for a video game adaptation.
Miller's interest in adapting "Big Trouble in Little China" into a video game stemmed from his appreciation of the film's distinctive style and enduring popularity. He envisioned the game as a potential platform to expand the character of Jack Burton into a long-term video game icon. The proposed game was planned to retain the whimsical and adventurous spirit of the original film but with a fresh narrative perspective. According to Miller, the game's storyline would have been narrated by Egg Shen, a character from the movie who played a crucial role in assisting Jack Burton. The game would incorporate elements of Chinese black magic, crucial characters' journey, and other canonical references such as Jack’s iconic truck, "The Pork Chop Express."
Moreover, Miller’s vision included making the game a first-person shooter, a genre in which he had extensive experience thanks to his work on Duke Nukem. He also wanted to integrate a bullet-time mechanic, inspired by the famous line from the film, "It's all in the reflexes," to add a unique gameplay element that paid homage to the movie’s action sequences.
However, despite Miller’s enthusiasm and the clear creative vision for the game, it was never developed. His pitch to Fox, the rights holders of the film, coincided with a significant corporate transition – the acquisition of Fox by Disney. This monumental deal put many pending projects and pitches on indefinite hold, including Miller’s game. The subsequent changes in corporate priorities and the chaos often inherent in such massive corporate takeovers meant that the project did not receive the green light it required to move into development.
Interestingly, the pitch for a "Big Trouble in Little China" game is not the only time Miller has attempted to bring a classic film into the gaming world. Earlier in the year, he revealed another thwarted attempt to develop a game based on the movie "Escape From New York," another John Carpenter classic starring Kurt Russell. Like the "Big Trouble in Little China" game, this project was also affected by the Disney-Fox acquisition.
Despite these setbacks, Scott Miller remains a respected figure in the video game industry, with a knack for innovative thinking and pushing the boundaries of video game storytelling and mechanics. His revelation about the "Big Trouble in Little China" game pitch adds to the tapestry of "what could have been" in the gaming industry, offering insight into the creative processes that often occur behind the scenes but never make it to the market.
The story of the unbuilt "Big Trouble in Little China" game serves as a reminder of the complex interplay between creative ideas and corporate decision-making in the entertainment industry. It highlights how external factors, like corporate mergers, can impact creative projects in significant ways. As fans of both the film and potential video games, one can only speculate about what an adventurous, supernatural action game led by Jack Burton might have been like under Miller’s creative leadership.
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