Not too long ago, photos of Jackie Chan at an event surfaced online, revealing the martial arts icon to have thinning gray hair and a feeble appearance.
Fans began to worry that Chan was ill or not in good health as a result. The Rush Hour actor has, after all, always been an actor who never seemed to age.
On the other hand, it would hardly be shocking that the master of martial arts is now showing his age, as Chan turned 70 yesterday.
But it appears that, much as he disregarded the conventions of action stunts, Chan is still defying his age at seventy.
Chan disclosed on social media that he is presently shooting a part that calls for his current look and that there was no cause for alarm.
On Instagram, Chan wrote, "Not so long ago, a lot of friends saw some recent photos of me on the internet, and they were all concerned about my health. I want to take this opportunity to let everyone know, don’t worry!"
"It’s just a character appearance for my latest movie. The character requires me to have white hair, white beard and look old. Over the years, I’ve always been willing to try new things for a movie, no matter if it’s a challenging stunt or a breakthrough appearance for a character. I’ve been in the entertainment business for 62 years and I cherish every moment because I’m lucky I’m still filming today."
Interestingly enough, it was just revealed that cameras are now rolling on the sixth Karate Kid installment, so it's possible that the 'old and feeble' look Chan is crafting is for this pic.
He'll be reprising his role as Mr. Han from the 2010 film which starred Jaden Smith. In exciting news, the film will also see Ralph Macchio reprising the role of Daniel LaRusso in the film.
It seems the film is set to introduce Ben Wang (American Born Chinese) as a new teen that will take up the titular mantle as Ben Wang will portray "a teen from China who moves to the East Coast and finds strength and direction via martial arts from a mentor."
Joining Maccio, Chan and Wang are Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, and Ming-Na Wen in undisclosed roles.
It's unclear if any of the other Cobra Kai cast members outside Macchio will feature in the upcoming Karate Kid movie as executive producers Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg have publicly said that they are not involved with the upcoming film.