Being one of the most prominent global icons, Jackie Chan has shared the screen with several Hollywood giants, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, throughout his decades-long dominance in showbiz. But there are still a pretty handful of big movie stars that the actor still hasn’t collaborated with, which includes the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris.
In the case of the former, the Rush Hour star did receive his fair share of offers to join forces with Stallone, but they never worked out in the end. And to this date, the wait to witness the two share the big screen continues.
The real reason why Jackie Chan rejected four movies involving Sylvester Stallone
Although there were 4 separate occasions when a project involving Sylvester Stallone was offered to the Hong Kong legend, each time Jackie Chan turned it down. However, the actor later clarified the prime reasoning behind his decisions, and it had nothing to do with having any sort of bad blood with the Rocky Star.
According to the Rush Hour actor, he turned down the offer to star in the Demolition Man, which imagined Chan as the villain as the actor was opposed to starring in a negative role. He also refused to star in the fourth installment of the Rambo franchise for a similar reason, as he was offered the part of a drug dealer, which the actor believed went against his image. However, in the case of Expendables 2, scheduling conflicts would get in his way, and for the threequel, Jackie Chan wasn’t keen on joining the film as it was a smaller gig.
Sylvester Stallone motivated Jackie Chan to succeed in Hollywood
Despite rejecting several offers to join forces with the Rambo star, Jackie Chan doesn’t have any grudge against Sylvester Stallone, as he hasn’t backed away from expressing his admiration for the actor. The Rocky star also had a similar view regarding the Hong Kong legend, and if it wasn’t for Stallone, Chan had almost decided to part ways with Hollywood,
In his early days in Hollywood, the Rush Hour star struggled to land prominent roles and had a hard time cementing himself as the icon he is today. This would lead to the actor almost parting ways with Hollywood; but after visiting Stallone, the Rocky star would go on to motivate Chan by expressing the amount of respect they hold for the Ride On star’s work. Jackie Chan explained,
“Only then did I learn that many American stunt teams were using my movies as instructional videos. I felt very proud of myself.”
This meeting with the Rambo star would go on to reignite the spark in Jackie Chan, and he would eventually cement himself as one of the most loved action stars of our time. Although the two are yet to share the big screen, The Karate Kid star has showcased his interest to work with Stallone, and fans hope it wouldn’t be too long before that happens.