Jackie Chan thinks 'Rush Hour 4' could start filming as early as next year.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

The 63-year-old actor - who plays Chief Inspector Lee in the action comedy franchise alongside Chris Tucker as Detective James Carter - has revealed a sequel to the hit movies is most likely to happen.

He said: "For the last 20 years, I've tried different [characters]. A few years ago, Karate Kid. There was supposed to be a Karate Kid 2 but the script isn't right. Several years later they want to do it and I say, 'You still want to do Karate Kid? No, Karate Men.' They're taller than me now! Rush Hour, you can do any time ... Next year!

"For the last seven years, we've been turning down the script, turning down the script. Yesterday, we just agreed. The script probably at the end of this month will have a second draft and next year, [we'll] probably start. If ... Chris Tucker agrees."

'Rush Hour 3' - the last of the previous instalments - was released in 2007 and Chan insists the delay in releasing a fourth one is not about money but instead about scheduling.

Speaking on Power 106's The Cruz Show, he said: "It's not about money! It's about [having the] time to make. Otherwise, 'Rush Hour 4', we're all old men. I tell Chris Tucker, 'Before we get old, please do Rush Hour 4.'"

Tucker had previously weighed in about the possibility of doing a fourth movie, revealing it was being looked into.

Speaking back in 2012, he said: "Rush Hour 4, we're looking into it, me and Jackie. We're trying to get it going, so we're developing something, so hopefully we'll get something in."

'Rush Hour' follows the story of Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee and wisecracking Detective James Carter, who team up to solve crimes after being shunned by both the FBI and the LAPD.