Jackie Chan is officially retiring from action movies.
Chan's upcoming film, "Chinese Zodiac 2012," will be his last big action film, according to Reuters.
"I'm not young any more, honestly," the 58-year-old Hong Kong actor told Reuters while in Beijing filming a documentary.
Although this is Chan's final action flick, it is not the end of his career. He said special effects and stunt doubles are viable options for the future. "Why (do) I have to use my own life to still do these kind of things? I will still do as much as I can. But I just don't want to risk my life to sit in a wheelchair, that's all."
Chan is proud of his action-film swan song. "I'm the director, I'm the writer, I'm the producer, I'm the action director, almost everything," he told Reuters of "Chinese Zodiac 2012," which also stars Oliver Platt and Emilie Guillot. "This really, really is my baby. You know, I've been writing the script for seven years."
Back in May, Chan first announced that he would be retiring from action movies during an interview with The Telegraph, when he explained "Chinese Zodiac 2012" will be his last.
“This is my last action film. I tell you, I’m not young any more. I’m really, really tired," he told The Telegraph. "And the world is too violent right now. It’s a dilemma -- I like action but I don’t like violence.” He hopes to move his career in a different direction, adding, “For the last 10 years I have been making some other different movies. I want to be an Asian Robert De Niro. I don’t just want to be an action star, I want to be a true actor. I want to get rid of my image."
Chan is not only a famous stuntman, but also an icon of Hong Kong cinema. He has displayed his physical skill and acrobatic fighting style in 113 titles during a career that spans over 40 years, according to his IMDb filmography.
The actor may be willing to come out of retirement for "Rush Hour 4". Co-star Chris Tucker recently revealed that a sequel is in the works. "Rush Hour 4, we're looking into it, me and Jackie [Chan]," he told Vulture. "We're trying to get it going, so we're developing something, so hopefully we'll get something in."
"Chinese Zodiac 2012," about a man who searches the world for a set of mystical artifacts, is set to hit theaters in China on Dec. 20.
