Seth Rogen (”Knocked Up”, “The 40-Year Old Virgin”), according to Scifi.com, has told reporters that he has been working out and slimming down for the title role in “The Green Hornet”, a screenplay written by him and Evan Goldberg, based on the classic radio hero Green Hornet and his chauffer/sidekick Kato.

While doing press for the upcoming Kevin Smith film “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, starring Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, he said “You need to physically believe I can run around and jump over s–t and punch people […] It’s all just to serve the movie. Comic book or not, it’s just a commitment to the movie. I mean, it just works better that I’m a guy who is in better shape.”

The Green Hornet first debuted in a radio serial in the 1930’s, created by Frank Striker and George W. Trendle. The character later appeared in film serials in the 1940’s and later, a 1960’s TV series that featured the now-legendary Bruce Lee in the role of Kato. Though there have been several stories detailing the characters background, most tend to gravitate towards the Hornet as being Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher who fought crime at night. A descendant of the Western hero Lone Ranger, Reid and Kato, his longtime friend, sidekick, and driver, fought crime equipped with advanced technology, such as the “Black Beauty” car and Reid’s gas gun and “hornet’s sting” taser. Most, if not all of these inventions, were actually credited as being invented by Kato himself.

On June 4, 2008 Sony announced that they were going to go ahead with a film adaptation of the hero, tentatively slated for June 25, 2010. The film is set to star Rogen and be directed by legendary Hong Kong star Stephen Chow (”Kung Fu Hustle”), who will also star as Kato.

Stay tuned to Toxic Shock for Green Hornet news and more.

By Costa Koutsoutis, (Source: Scifi.com)