If there was any doubt on your end that the likes of action stars Tony Jaa and Jet Li would appear together in a movie with franchise muscle, actor Vin Diesel, you wouldn’t have been completely wrong. Li first broke ground from Hong Kong cinema with Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998 five years before Jaa would reach his own milestones with Ong Bak in 2003 and his Hollywood debut opposite Diesel in Furious Seven last Spring, and so seventeen years is a considerable amount of time to wait for news like this.
As it stands though, there’s not much to gain from expecting Li to do any screenfighting as we’ve last heard a few years back about his hyperthyroidism which ultimately affects his heart. That said, it still bares worth keeping in mind whatever hopes there are that maybe Li is fit to fight on screen once more depending on how his character for xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage is written. At any rate however, the news is as reported according to sources close to Twitchfilm that Li will have a role in the film next to Jaa’s reunion with Diesel, along with Bollywood actress, Quantico series star Deepika Padukone and the return of actor Samuel L. Jackson since Rob Cohen’s 2002 installment, xXx and actor Ice Cube’s lead takeover in Lee Tamahori’s xXx2: State Of The Union in 2005.
The news all comes in the wake of Irish MMA champion Conor McGregor’s addition to the film as of last month’s UFC 194 win against José Aldo. Cameras are currently rolling in the Phililppines for a 2017 release with Disturbia helmer D.J. Caruso directing from a script by John D. Brancato (Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines) and Michael Ferris (The Game).