In spite of the Drunken Master movies being some of Jackie Chan’s most beloved films, the actor never made a third installment. Drunken Master III does exist, but it has no connection to the actor. To this day, Chan has yet to revisit the series.
The Drunken Master movies hold a special place in Chan’s legacy as a martial arts star. After headlining his first box office hit, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Chan followed it up with Drunken Master, which solidified his status as a star in the Hong Kong movie industry. Additionally, Drunken Master acted as a stepping stone to more roles and did its part to help Chan build the image he has today. Thanks to its continued popularity, Chan returned to play his Drunken Master character in a direct sequel. Also known as Drunken Master II, Legend of the Drunken Master paired Chan with fellow kung fu legend Ti Lung. And much like the first movie, it’s widely regarded as one of the actor’s best martial arts films.
Why A Proper Drunken Master 3 Still Hasn’t Been Made
The Legend of the Drunken Master’s success easily warranted another sequel, but Chan’s issues with director Lau Kar-leung seemingly stood in the way. Lau, who already had a reputation for directing some of the biggest kung fu movies ever made, had a well-publicized feud with Chan during the filming of Drunken Master II. Though both had decades of experience in making martial arts movies, they shared different views on the action choreography should be handled. Toward the end of filming, Lau was fired from the project [via South China Morning Post.] This led to Lau making Drunken Master III without Chan. As a result of having a brand-new cast and story, it’s typically regarded as an unofficial sequel.
Years later, opportunities emerged for Chan to bring back his Drunken Master character from the Golden Harvest movies, but they never came to fruition. Chan has received offers to star in Drunken Master 3, but has insisted that his involvement would depend on a good script. But even in that case, Chan still has reservations about reprising his Drunken Master role. According to him, the next logical step for his character would be to become the kung fu teacher, but Chan feels that he already played that role via The Karate Kid remake. Plus, Chan said that Drunken Master II already corrected the first movie’s problems by having his character come to with the consequences of heavy drinking [via IGN].
Why Jackie Chan Returning For Drunken Master 3 Wouldn’t Work
Chan’s comments highlight the issue with the actor potentially returning for Drunken Master 3. As Chan has pointed out, there isn’t a clear path for Jackie Chan's character to take after Drunken Master II's ending. Given what his age would be and the fact that he already gave up drinking, it wouldn’t work for him to continue on as the protagonist, which is why he’d have to become a kung fu master to a new hero. Even then, though, it’s still hard to see how the movie would utilize his drunken-style kung fu, especially since Jackie Chan’s character already walked away from that phase in his life and is unlikely to teach these bad habits to someone else.