This is one cool rumor that would instantly beef up the interest level in XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE
TwitchFilm posted a rumor on Friday that martial arts legends and international superstars Jet Li and Tony Jaa would be joining the threequel, alongside Bollywood star Deepika Padukone. Presumably, Padukone will be playing one of the “good guys,” but no word on whether Li or Jaa will be heroes or baddies (my bet would be on the latter).
I thought Jaa was killer in the first supporting role and villain turn I’d ever seen from him when he faced off against Paul Walker in FURIOUS 7, and obviously he’s one of the most acrobatic and impressive martial arts performers in the biz right now. His performances were a little lackluster early on, but now he’s at the point when having him in your movie is a win-win, both from an acting and fighting perspective.
As for Li, well, he typically doesn’t fare quite as well as the second (or third) banana, even though his breakout U.S. role was as the villain in LETHAL WEAPON 4 (a role which had him deliver exactly one line of English dialogue). His zen intensity is usually best when the actor is front and center, but his scowl and physicality serve him well when playing villain types, so I’m hoping that’s what he’d be signing on for here rather than a sidekick or something lame like that.
To an extent, it doesn’t really matter what roles they’re playing: they’d clearly be getting hired for their international clout and their martial arts abilities, not to recite Shakespeare. Just having Jet Li and Tony Jaa in the movie goes a long way in justifying why this firmly-early-2000s franchise deserves to be dusted off, and how this one will be bigger, badder, and crazier than the previous two XXXs.
I mean, if either of these guys are the villain, it’s not like they have to worry too hard about being better than the last guy…
