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The era of the dinosaurs has come to an end. Again. And although the 7-part film series was a vision come to life (every bit representing the extraordinary ambition of Steven Spielberg), it lacked in one major aspect: the opportunity to cast Jackie Chan.Actors, no matter how big or small, have come to wish themselves on the sets of a Spielberg film, but there are a rare handful who are so vocally head-over-heels for the director that they have expressly claimed to work for him for free. Jackie Chan, just so, happened to be one of them.
Also read:“They have only one audience”: After Trashing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan Claims He Found Inspiration in Tom Cruise After $244MRushHourSuccess
Jackie Chan’s Dream of Walking Among the Dinosaurs
Jackie Chan, a master of the ’80s Hong Kong action and martial art films, has become perhaps the only other person to garner universal recognition, acclaim, and love on such a grand scale after the inimitable Bruce Lee. But throughout his career, Chan – like any other actor – dreamed of working with the greatest of the greats:Steven Spielbergand George Lucas. However, fate (and Spielberg) had other plans for the actor.
Also read:Will Smith Refused to Work With Jackie Chan in $244M Movie That Spanned Into $850M Fan-Favorite Franchise
Chan recalls his first meeting with Spielberg with wonder and amazement. The latter immediately asked for theRush Hourveteran’s autograph saying,“Jackie, hi…my son just loves you.”However, Chan’s wish to star in one of theJurassic Parkfilms wasn’t as easy to comply with. In an interview withBlack Film, the actor revealed how his interaction with Spielberg went:
“I want to walk with dinosaurs. This kind of movie is one audience. He said No! What we like you in is Jackie Chan action. That’s what we like.”
The pair later went on to work together in a spy action movie,The Tuxedo, with Jackie Chan in the leading role. Steven Spielberg, although passing on the director’s chair on that one went on to serve as the film’s executive producer.
Also read:Jackie Chan Wanted To Be Like Tom Cruise Who Has Grossed $8.4 Billion From His 38 Movies: “I want to have one audience like Tom Cruise”
Jackie Chan and Steven Spielberg: A Collaboration We Need
As both the actor and the director are inching closer to their retirement from Hollywood, the pertinent matter of witnessing Jackie Chan and Steven Spielberg collaborate on a project ranks at #1 on the priority list. The actor has always been vocal about branching out into genres other than action:“In Asia, I made whatever movie I wanted to. But in America, all the scripts I receive are about the police, police, police!”And althoughThe Tuxedowas a step away from that, it still wasn’t a definitive Spielberg experience. In an interview with Jae-Ha Kim, Chan revealed:
“If it wasn’t for the fact that this film was made by Steven Spielberg’s company [DreamWorks], I wouldn’t have done this. But I trust them. I wanted to do this movie because it was different from the scripts I usually get. My character wasn’t a policeman or a martial arts expert. I read this script and thought it would be fun.”
Also read:Kung Fu Rivals Jackie Chan, Jet Li Joining $1.12B Franchise inJohn Wick 5after Donnie Yen’s Caine? Director Chad Stahelski Reveals Dream List
Chan is currently occupied with the fourth installment of the famousRush Hourfranchise alongside co-star, Chris Tucker. He has also been cast as a voice actor in Seth Rogen’s upcoming sci-fi animated film,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhemas Splinter, the mutant rat who serves as the turtles’ ninjutsu and martial arts instructor and their adoptive father. The film premieres on June 08, 2025.
Jurassic Parkis now available for streaming on Peacock and Apple TV.
Source:Black Film
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
