Jackie Chan is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars, known not only for his enduring presence in the industry but also for his easy charm and likable demeanor.
The actor, 70, has built an entire career on his light-hearted onscreen persona, and his latest collaborator is sharing some insight into how that truly transpires off-screen.
Jackie is set to reprise his role as Mr. Han from 2010’s The Karate Kid opposite Ralph Macchio, star of the original from 1984, in the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends.
The pair will appear opposite Ben Wang and Jonathan Entwistle will direct the newest installment in the franchise, which is set for a May 2025 release.
In a new conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Jonathan and Ben break down the highly-anticipated project, with the former speaking kindly of Jackie and how he is just as kind as you’d think when the cameras aren’t rolling.
“Apart from being a wonderful human being who is very warm, he is the type of actor that does not leave,” he explained. “When his day is done, you would often find him sitting next to me, sitting next to the DP, telling stories, talking to the actors.”
The filmmaker praised the screen legend for being a true “movie star, calling it “something that you don’t see so much anymore,” and explained how he was able to bring his own ideas and insight into the making of Legends.
“He had the ability to come up with a tiny idea that I’d never thought of — and all of Jackie’s tiny ideas are in the movie. He was like the magical Dumbledore to us on set, and he’s like that in the movie too.”
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He further elaborated on that thought by sharing one of the Kung Fu Panda star’s ideas that made it into the film’s final cut, recalling: “There’s a wonderful fight sequence in the movie, which I’m not going to spoil, and Jackie had the idea to jump out at Ben from a random corner of this space, without Ben even knowing where he was going to be.”
© Getty Images“He wanted to jump out from the spot that would have the most effect. He was always looking for an opportunity to either roll on the floor, roll over a table, jump off a staircase — he would just be like, ‘I will do this.'”
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“None of us ever had a choice. It was like, Jackie would have an idea, and we just filmed it because it’s Jackie, and it would always be awesome.”
© Getty ImagesJonathan also spoke of the early rumors of Mr. Han returning for a Karate Kid movie, which first sprung in 2014, detailing at what point he joined the production and when it all finally materialized with the actor.
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“I was originally sent the script in early 2022,” he continued. “It had all the pieces in it for Ben’s character, Li, but it had a very different ending.”
© Cinematic / Alamy Stock Photo“One of the things that was really exciting to me when I first read it was this idea of connecting the Jackie Chan character of Mr. Han with [Ralph’s] Daniel LaRusso, both from the movies and then subsequently what [his character] had become with Cobra Kai.”
