Jackie Chan's latest film "Chinese Zodiac" is part of Chan's "Armour of God" franchise, seems to have been released everywhere but the US, and has already grossed $138 million overseas. While the US impatiently waits to be the last one to the party yet again, Chan currently has quite a few other rumored projects in the works for fans to anticipate and/or groan about.
Along with Nicolas Cage, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, and former President Bill Clinton, Jackie Chan is rumored to be a part of the cast for "The Expendables 3." It's said that Chan was offered a role in the second film but turned it down and is only interested in signing on for the third film if he has a fairly substantial role and only if the film is more buddy-buddy oriented.
"Rush Hour 4" was all but confirmed to be in the works last July with both Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan returning. Producer Arthur Sarkissian only wants to do another "Rush Hour" if it's "more gritty," is more in the vein of the first film, and is something more unique than throwing Lee and Carter in a new city and struggling to cope. Sarkissian then said he wants to do something similar to "Fast Five" in the sense that it's the same characters in a different world.
"Maybe Chris is now married. Maybe Jackie is married to Octavia Spencer. I don't know. Married to Chris' cousin. They live in Shanghai. Chris goes out to visit them... I want something energetic."
However, in the middle of December, Chan confirmed that he was planning on doing Skip Tracers, a film similar to "Rush Hour," but didn't want to re-team with Chris Tucker despite Tucker's interest in the script.
"The script is currently [being] viewed by Chris Tucker. Personally, I feel that if he were to pick it up, it would be better if we turned it into Rush Hour 4 but I do think that three movies for the franchise is a perfect ending. It would be better to start a new buddy movie with someone new."
Chan also seems to be interested in making a new "Police Story" film, as well; a film that will end the franchise. Since Chan is only interested in doing less intense action films these days (he turns 59 later this year, so who can blame him?) and most of his stunts require a heavy use of wires, a wire-filled less intense "Police Story" film sounds more than a little weak. "New Police Story" did have a pretty great balance and was still really enjoyable, so if it's up to that caliber it may have a chance.
What's interesting is Wikipedia currently lists "The Karate Kid 2," "Rush Hour 4," "The Expendables 3," and "Kung Fu Panda 3" as Chan's current upcoming projects while IMDb only lists Chan as having rumored roles in "Rush Hour 4" and "The Expendables 3." Wikipedia also lists some upcoming future films for Chan that are still unconfirmed including a new project with Jet Li, "Project A Part III," and a new "Drunken Master" film.
If Chan can continue to deliver performances that are at least as entertaining as his roles in "Little Big Soldier" and "Shaolin" then these rumored projects certainly have the potential to at least graze the surface of Jackie Chan's greatest works. However, most of his most recent works like "Shinjuku Incident" and "1911" are more disappointing than anything. He should skip "The Expendables 3" and just make another film with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao before they get any older.
Sources: imdb.com, wikipedia.org, movieweb.com, worstpreviews.com, asianmoviepulse.com, fanpop.com, toutlecine.com, ricmeyers.com, filmofilia.com, ign.com, budomate.com, topwalls.net
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