Jackie Chan, being one of the most recognizable and influential personalities in the world, doesn’t mind a bit of bragging about his “action star” status. Chan has not only taken multiple forms of kung fu, like the Southern and Northern Shaolin kung fu to the world stage, but also thrilled fans with some of the most action-packed Hollywood movies.
Considering his journey of stepping out of traditional Asian movies, to making a name with hit franchises like Rush Hour, the Hollywood Walk of Fame star recipient surely deserves to brag about his “action star” status, especially when it comes to lifting the status of Rush Hour films for a global audience.
Jackie Chan Credits Himself For Rush Hour’s Success
Jackie Chan is undoubtedly one of the most forward-thinking stars in the Asian industry. And, America, for once, accepts that the little man continues to do wonders for Hollywood. One such example is the massive success of the Rush Hour film series.
Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan are one of the most popular duos in Hollywood, known for their swashbuckling and humorous performances in the film. During a previous interview, the Enter the Dragon star was asked about the challenges faced by Brett Ratner’s team in making a better sequel after Rush Hour managed to gross over $345 million worldwide.
On this, Chan credited his “action star” status for the success of the movie, mentioning that not many people knew Chris Tucker or the director himself. Glorifying his action star status, Jackie Chan stated:
“So in the first movie, the audience did not know, they knew Jackie Chan as an action star, but Chris who? And Brett who? We make the film and boom! Now we make a part II and we sit and try to figure out how to make part II better.”
Because the audience goes to the theater expecting a film that is better than Part I. So I tell the director, this film has to be the best. Because we want to make part III and part IV and continue. We are very lucky when we made part I because we get to make part II.”
Chan also quoted the success of Shanghai Noon and mentioned that “we must make every movie the best we can.” He added, “So now we have more budget, more action, more comedy. Everything is bigger,” giving due credit to his status for the movie’s success. And well, the movie did result in spawning an $849M franchise.
Rush Hour 4 Needs To Be Bigger Than The Biggest!
As glorifying as it comes from a hardcore Jackie Chan fan, even critics admit that the legendary actor has always maintained a balance when it comes to appeasing his loyal Asian fan base as well as making a mark in the more lucrative Western market.
If one goes by Jackie Chan’s ideology, Rush Hour 4 would not only need Chris Tucker-Jackie Chan’s chemistry, but the heart and soul of the entire team, considering the glorious past of its predecessor. The original movie was such a blast when it hit theatres in 1998, that it ensued the 2001 and 2007 sequels, altogether pulling close to $1 billion worldwide at the box office.
Now that almost two decades have passed, it’s only humble to say that the team would need more than a few shenanigans. The news related to Rush Hour 4 gained some momentum in 2017 and 2018, with Chan giving the thumbs-up for the screenplay, and Tucker hopping on board with the project.
While everyone from the Rush Hour team has continued to remain hush-hush about the upcoming project, December 2022 gave some hope to fans as Chan mentioned talking to Ratner about the script. Last month, Tucker officially described Rush Hour 4 as one of his upcoming projects.
With details being under wraps, one can imagine how “bigger” Rush Hour 4 is going to be as Chan makes an action-filled return in his late 60s. The movie may not be coming anytime sooner, but fans can still relive memories as the Rush Hour film series can be rented or purchased on Amazon Instant Video.
Source: blackfilm.com
