It didn’t happen, but Jackie Chan was once meant to become the next Bruce Lee. The two stars, who hail from two different eras of the kung fu movie genre, are known as the biggest martial arts icons of all time. Numerous actors are renowned for their work in the genre, but none have equaled the fame of Chan and Lee.
Lee and Chan had two completely different careers. Lee spent years trying to gain recognition in Hollywood, only to leave and make a name for himself in Hong Kong with three kung fu films. After returning to the United States, he followed them up with Warner Bros’ Enter the Dragon. Released posthumously, the movie was responsible for turning him into an international sensation. In contrast to Lee, who only completed four kung fu movies, Jackie Chan starred in dozens of martial arts films. And unlike Lee, whose legendary reputation was defined by just two years in the industry, Chan’s remarkable career has spanned decades, with the actor becoming the top kung fu star in both the 1980s and the 1990s. Even now, the actor still headlines action movies.
In spite of their many differences, there was a time when Jackie Chan’s career could have headed in a completely different direction. In fact, the studio that produced Lee’s movies originally intended for Chan to help them pick up where they left off with their star, who died in 1973. Eager to find someone who could fill the void left by Lee’s death, Golden Harvest settled on Chan as one of his potential replacements. But instead of just picking a new actor to be their new go-to star, Golden Harvest wanted an actor who emulated Lee in every way. In the 1970s, the studio cast Chan in several kung fu movies where his characters were made to look, act, and fight like Lee. One of these films was New Fist of Fury, which was a sequel to Lee’s Fist of Fury. Unfortunately, New Fist of Fury and the movies that followed didn't take off the box office.
Why Golden Harvest Abandoned Its Jackie Chan Plan
Golden Harvest continued to look for success with Chan as the next Bruce Lee for a few years with films like Shaolin Wooden Men and To Kill with Intrigue, but changed course in 1978. Released just a few months apart, martial arts comedies Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master proved that Golden Harvest had been wasting Chan, as the previous movies didn't make use of his natural, comedic talents. The two movies were a departure from Chan’s earlier work as they were both infused with the sort of slapstick humor that Chan is known for today. Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master demonstrated that Chan is better when allowed to play comedic characters rather than serious heroes in the mold of Bruce Lee.
The success of the two movies resulted in Golden Harvest permanently abandoning any plans to make Chan Lee’s successor. Of course, they didn’t end studios’ attempts to replace Lee, as the Bruceploitation era went on with other actors. However, Chan’s part in all of that ended for good with Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master. Having proven that he didn’t need to be like Bruce Lee for his movies to be successful, Jackie Chan carved his own path and found a way to thrive without relying on Lee’s legacy and image.