Chinese actor Jet Li (R) and director Ronny Yu attend a news conference after the premiere of his movie 'Fearless' on February 23, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea. The movie 'Fearless' will be released in South Korea on March 16, 2006. (Photo : Getty Images/Chung Sung-Jun)
Li Lianjie, who is professionally known as Jet Li, is retiring. The 53-year-old martial artist and actor recently revealed his plans to call it quits after ten years.
During a charity event in Beijing, China on July 2, "The Forbidden Kingdom" star uncovered that he intends to bow out and quit the movie business soon. Before that, he plans to help build platforms to benefit young people in different commercial enterprises.
The action star also addressed reports suggesting his deteriorating health. Li said he would like to tell the public frankly regarding his disease and let them know that he is facing it calmly and dealing with it positively.
"I have the disease, I'm struggling, but I'm not in a wheelchair yet," China.org.cn quoted Li as saying before a predominantly Chinese crowd.
The actor was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2013. Since his heart rate can hit 130-140 as normal, Li maintains some steroid medicines for a long time. He has been advised not to do any sort of vigorous movements nor exercise.
Li has been enjoying a reprieve from acting, though he had a cameo role in 2014's "The Expendables 3." He was initially stated to be appearing with Vin Diesel in "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage," but has been replaced by Donnie Yen.
Earlier reports claimed that Li personally chose to exit the project for as-yet officially undisclosed reasons. Li then addressed the claims, stating that his absence was because of his illness, his new hobby of memorabilia collection and religious faith.
Nonetheless, Li will be making his big screen comeback as Jiang Ziya in "League of Gods," an upcoming Hong Kong-Chinese fantasy film directed by Koan Hui and Vernie Yeung. Based on the 16th-century Chinese novel by Xu Zhonglin's "Fengshen Bang," the upcoming film recounts the tale of how King Zhou (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) of Shang turns into a tyrant due to the wiles of a vixen spirit, Daji (Fan Bingbing), who is disguised as one of his concubines, City on Fire reported.
With an estimated production budget of $300 million, the film is scheduled for release in China, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom on July 29. Check out the trailer below:
