The Beverly Hills Ninja sequel we first heard about last month has started casting, and according to Variety will start shooting in South Korea as soon as next month. It’s a big deal, because it’s the first mainstream movie to shoot there, and because it stars David Hasselhoff.

That’s right, The Hoff is starring in Beverly Hills Ninja 2. No word on what part he’ll play, but I doubt he’ll be the lead. Though if he did, that would be hilarious.

The movie is less of a sequel than it is some sort of bizarre reboot. This Beverly Hills Ninja is about a white kid who grows up with an Asian family, and convincing himself he’s the legendary dancing ninja… whatever that is. When his Sensei is murdered, he follows in Farley’s footsteps and heads to Hollywood to track down the killer. Imagine David Hasselhoff as a dancing ninja. That’s a movie I’d pay good money to see.

The dancing ninja hero though, is more likely to be High School Musical co-star Lucas Grabeel, who’s also confirmed to be in the film along with a Tai model named Lin Chiling.

It’s still unclear if this is a direct-to-dvd thing or if it’s a real theatrical release. They’ve got a pretty decent budget to work with, at least $7 million, and they are going through the trouble to shoot in Korea. On the other hand, they’re shooting for a May 2009 release, when a movie like this is even more sure to die a certain death than normal, bludgeoned beneath the weight of less… well… ill conceived, legitimate summer blockbusters. That probably means the first place you’ll find Beverly Hills Ninja 2 is in the checkout line at a Wal-Mart near you.