Jackie Chan To Return To Hong Kong Action Cinema With New Police Story 2

World-famous martial arts star Jackie Chan is returning to his Hong Kong roots in news that will have any action junkie positively buzzing with excitement. Longtime fans will hardly need a reminder of Chan's leading role in the "Police Story" trilogy of movies. Made with significant creative influence by Chan (who directed and co-wrote two of the films) from 1985 to 1992, the trilogy follows lead character Chan Ka-Kui, a local cop tasked with assisting in a major undercover sting operation. The franchise was actually rebooted twice with Chan's direct involvement, most notably in 2004 with "New Police Story." That film also starred Chan in the lead role and paired him with immensely popular popstar and actor Nicholas Tse. Now, the two are teaming up once again to deliver a follow-up to that film with "New Police Story 2."

This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which states that Chan recently made the official announcement in Hong Kong alongside Tse (who will make his feature film directing debut with the sequel). The original "Police Story" films are largely credited with jumpstarting Chan's career from a local name into a genuine movie star known across the globe and THR reports that Chan cited this as a major reason for why he's now returning to the franchise:

"I put a lot and a lot of effort in this movie ['Police Story'] back then, and it was a series loved by global fans. But most importantly, Nicolas Tse is the director this time, this attracted me to the project."

Hong Kong's greatest star is making his grand return to the hit action/comedy franchise that first made his name. Decades after appearing in the "Police Story" movies and the subsequent sequels, spin-offs, and reboots (the last of which arrived in 2013, running the franchise's tally up to seven total movies), Jackie Chan and Nicholas Tse are returning for "New Police Story 2." Chan has commonly cited the original movies as featuring the best and most thrilling action scenes he's ever performed on camera in his decades of acting, so his announcement that he'll be returning for another sequel certainly speaks volumes.

Other than Tse's involvement both in front of and behind the camera as the director, there's been no word on what other actors may fill out the cast. Either way, the new film will have quite the uphill climb. The original movies starred multiple living legends, including Maggie Cheung in the original trilogy, the Academy Award-winning Michelle Yeoh in the 1992 sequel/spin-off "Supercop," and more. Chan, now 68 years old, will certainly have his work cut out for him in returning to a rebooted franchise almost two decades after its release. Still, it'd be incredibly silly to count the martial arts expert out after recently starring in films such as 2020's "Vanguard" and the Martin Campbell-directed "The Foreigner" in 2017.

There is no word just yet on a specific release date for "New Police Story 2," but more updates are sure to come in.