One of the two greatest martial arts icons of all time went up against the genre’s very first star - not once, but twice - on the big screen. Over the course ofJackie Chan’slong career, he’s appeared alongside a long list of fellow stars in the industry.
He teamed up with Michelle Yeoh before she became famous inPolice Story 3: Supercop, co-starred inThe Forbidden Kingdomwith Jet Li, and had abit role as a minion in Bruce Lee’sEnter the Dragon.
Some of these movies - likeThe Forbidden Kingdom- are remembered primarily for their high-profile partnerships. And yet, despite appearing in three movies together, it’s often overlooked that Jackie Chan and the martial arts genre’s original star have fought each other twice in their films.
Jackie Chan Was The Villain Of Jimmy Wang Yu’s The Killer Meteors
In the mid-1970s, Jackie Chan’s movie career was just getting started. He appeared in multiple movies during this period, but had yet to become a true star, which didn’t happen until 1978 when he starred inSnake in the Eagle’s Shadowand the now-iconicDrunken Master.
Up until then, he made a slew of conventional,old-school kung fu movies, most of which were admittedly forgettable. One of them wasThe Killing Meteors,a movie where Jackie Chan held a rare role as the villain that the hero has to defeat at the end of the film.
The movie was a vehicle for Jimmy Wang Yu,who, at the time, was a much bigger name in the industry than Chan. In fact, Jimmy Wang Yu is widely credited as the first true star of the genre.
Jimmy Wang Yu burst onto the scene in 1967 when he played the titular hero in Shaw Brothers’The One-Armed Swordsman, one of several sword-fighting epics set in ancient China. Three years later, he transformed his career (and the industry) by writing, directing, andstarring inThe Chinese Boxer, which added actual kung fu to the mix.
As the first major movie in the genre to have hand-to-hand combat take precedence over weapon fighting, Jimmy Wang Yu’s film marked the beginning of a new era.
How Jimmy Wang Yu Helped Save Jackie Chan’s Career
Despite its lack of success, Jackie Chan and Jimmy Wang Yu’s joint appearance inThe Killing Meteorsis much more significant than it seems, as it established ties that ultimately became crucial to the survival of the future superstar’s career. A few years afterThe Killing Meteors, Chan needed Wang Yu’s help.
The movie he had co-starred in with Wang Yu, along with several others made during this period, was with an independent studio run by Hong Kong movie director, Lo Wei, who Chan claimed had tried to turn him into “Bruce Lee the Second.”
Chan had been unable to find success with Lo Wei, but after finding fame withDrunken MasterandSnake in the Eagle’s Shadow, he was convinced to sign a new contract with the director. However, he quickly soured on it and broke his contract after being offered a sum he considered too outrageous to turn down.
Jackie Chan recounted in his biography,I am Jackie Chan, Lo Wei making an issue out of the contract breach, and alleged that there were threats of the triads getting involved. Chan explained that he then reached out to Jimmy Wang Yu, who had worked with Lo before.
Exactly what happened next isn’t clear, but Chan said that it was thanks to Wang Yu that Lo Wei ultimately backed off, enabling Chan to continue partnering with Golden Harvest, the studio that paved the way for Chan’s profile to rise even higher in the early 1980s.
Jimmy Wang Yu’s role in getting Chan out of his contract with Lo Wei may provide an explanation for two of the oddest roles inJackie Chan’s career. Seven years after their first movie together, Jimmy Wang Yu and Jackie Chan reunited forFantasy Mission Force, a 1983 genre-bending action film that put the former in a supporting role.
In 1991, Jackie Chan made an appearance in a low-budget prison drama titledIsland of Fire. NeitherIsland of FirenorFantasy Mission Forcewere comedies, or films that like good fits for Jackie Chan, even though the actor was successful enough at this point that he likely could have avoided both of them.
Instead, it appears that Chan’s involvement with them stems from their connection to Jimmy Wang Yu, who produced both movies. It’s long been assumed that Chan appeared in both movies as favors to Wang Yu more than anything else.
Although not the main protagonist,Fantasy Mission Forceabruptly brings in Chan to take over the action, allowing the movie to end with a dramatic final battle between Chan and Wang Yu’s characters. Unlike the fight inThe Killing Meteors, Chan walks away victorious this time, underscoring the fact thatJackie Chan, once an upcoming actor, had eclipsed the star power of the legendary Jimmy Wang Yu.
