The reasons why Jackie Chan did not want to participate in 'Demolition Man' with Stallone

‘Demolition Man’ was not only a great action movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, but it also left us with anecdotes to remember, such as the use of three grenades, which was about to be performed by Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, or the one that concerns us: that Jackie Chan was considered for the role of Simon Phoenix, but he refused because he did not want to be a villain, and this role was finally given to Snipes.

Jackie Chan did not want to participate in ‘Demolition Man’ because he did not want to be a villain or be typecast in that kind of role

The Michigan Daily reported in 2002 how Sylvester Stallone personally offered Jackie Chan the role of Simon Phoenix, the villain in ‘Demolition Man’. Although Chan had been in the world of action movies for more than twenty years at that point - with near-fatal accidents, to boot - his name was mostly associated with Hong Kong productions, and he was a complete unknown in Hollywood.

Although starring in ‘Demolition Man’ alongside a world-famous actor like Stallone would also have made him a global star, Chan refused for a very specific reason: his insistence on not playing villains throughout his filmography, and his reluctance to be typecast in such roles as an actor of Asian origin, which could severely limit his future job offers.

Another big reason has to do with Bruce Lee’s legacy in the world of cinema. Jackie Chan wanted to succeed in Hollywood in his own way and not be seen as a “clone” of Bruce Lee because he was also an actor and martial artist of Asian origin in general and Hong Kong in particular. And this opportunity came in 1995, because ‘Rumble in the Bronx’ was the movie that he managed to dazzle the American public and that made him set foot in Hollywood.

In addition, Jackie Chan’s refusal to participate in ‘Demolition Man’ was an opportunity for Wesley Snipes. Snipes, who is not only an actor but also a martial artist, had hardly had a chance to show his martial arts skills on screen until the release of this movie with Stallone.

Even though he was the antagonist in the feature film, being able to show off his wide range of kicks, punches, and all kinds of other hard-hitting blows cemented his status as an action movie actor, paving his way to Marvel’s ‘Blade’ trilogy.

However, as a nod to the casting process and the near inclusion of Chan in the film’s cast, a joke was left in the final script: Lenina (Sandra Bullock’s character) comments that she learned martial arts thanks to Jackie Chan’s movies.