Jackie Chan is undertaking a fun Nicolas Cage-like twist in his upcoming action comedy, Panda Plan. After dazzling Chinese audiences throughout the 1980s, Chan finally became a breakout star in America in the 1990s. The 69-year-old martial artist and actor is best known for starring in hits like Police Story, Rush Hour, Shanghai Knights, The Foreigner, and, recently, Hidden Strike, and he still remains very active in Hong Kong cinema.
Now, THR has revealed new details about Chan’s next movie, an action comedy called Panda Plan from director Zhang Luan. The movie features Chan playing an international action star version of himself and embarking on a mission to foil a panda kidnapping plot by a Middle Eastern tycoon. The evil plot comes after a panda from the zoo is born with a dark circle around only one eye, subsequently propelling the animal to international stardom. Chan playing a version of himself comes after Cage did the same thing in last year’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Why Jackie Chan Playing Himself Is A Great Idea
While it’s still unclear how Panda Plan will fare with audiences, the reveal that Chan is playing a version of himself is already a positive sign. The concept was effective in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent because Cage is such an outsized star with a unique reputation and mythology surrounding him. While Chan is probably just as well known to audiences as Cage is, the concept here is appealing mainly because of the tone that has defined so many of Chan’s movies.
An element that is present in the vast majority of Chan’s films, from relatively early on in his career up to the present, is a blend of intricate, expertly choreographed action and laughs. The physical comedy in his early 1978 movie Drunken Master largely defines the tonal balance that Chan would strike in many of his subsequent films. This same tonal balance can be seen in Rush Hour, with Chan showing off his fight prowess while constantly ensuring that an undercurrent of lighthearted humor remains present throughout.
Chan playing a version of himself already sound innately comedic, and the actor certainly has the level of worldwide renown for this premise to make sense. What remains to be seen, however, is whether Panda Plan will strike a chord with audiences. Chan’s collaboration with John Cena for Hidden Strike, for example, despite the star power involved, was a fairly big disappointment domestically in terms of box office and critical reception. The inclusion of adorable pandas in Chan’s next movie, however, certainly sounds like a recipe for success.
