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Jackie Chan is one of the most beloved actors of our generation. The martial arts legend is a force to be reckoned with in his dedication and commitment to pushing the boundaries of action filmmaking. His emphasis on raw, physical action along with brilliant comedic timing has been his signature and other filmmakers have been trying to emulate his formula with limited success. Outside of his huge star presence in China, he has also found success in Hollywood with the Rush Hour franchise and other works that showed his dramatic range such as The Karate Kid and The Foreigner.

Jackie Chan

Chan would have been the perfect candidate that would have been perfect for Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables franchise, where action heroes from all over and every era come together to fight a common enemy. Although he is yet to appear in any of the films, it seems he is a huge fan of the franchise and his presence would surely boost one’s expectations of the franchise.

Jackie Chan’s Inclusion in The Expendables Franchise Can Save the Doomed IPOfficial still from The Expendables 3

The director of Expend4bles, Scott Waugh recently talked about the making of the fourth installment of the Sylvester Stallone-led franchise. He expressed his desire to have Jackie Chan in the franchise if there was a follow-up fifth film in the franchise. Waugh told JoBlo,

“Look I think anything’s possible, and I know Jackie Chan is a huge Sylvester Stallone fan, Sly has such reverence for Jackie as well. I think if the stars align in their schedules, which is always so freaking complicated, I would really hope that we could make that happen, that’d be fantastic.”

Other martial arts stars like Scott Adkins, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, and Iko Uwais have already appeared in the franchise. Adding someone of the caliber like Chan would extremely boost the hype of the franchise. With Expend4bles getting the worst reviews of the franchise and flopping hard at the box office, the addition of Chan in a potential fifth film(now very unlikely) can seriously repair the damage done by the fourth film.

Jackie Chan Was Approached for The Franchise But He Turned It DownJackie Chan and Sylvester Stallone

Jackie Chan was approached by Sylvester Stallone to appear in The Expendables franchise for the fourth film. He did not like the format of the franchise where big stars appear in one or two moments and disappear in an already overstuffed ensemble criteria of the franchise. He was clearly concerned with the inability of him to stand out in such a condition. Chan said, (via CinemaBlend)

“…this morning I did hear – the office called – Sly [Stallone] wants me for Expendables 4. I said, ‘Okay.’ Because they already asked me to be in two and three, but I refused. Well, I didn’t refuse, but I said, ‘Sly, can’t we just do you and me? Not just a bunch of people and me only coming out for five minutes.’ Because then the audience is, ‘Oh!’ And then I’m gone.”

Chan’s reasoning is valid as he does not want to act as a filler that has no substance. Fans have to wait and see whether he agrees to appear in a potential future film in the franchise. In 2023, he had three releases including Ride On, Hidden Strike, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

Sources: JoBlo, CinemaBlend