Jet Li — Health Crisis For Struggling ‘Expendables’ Star

Jet Li was one of Hollywood's top action stars before abruptly disappearing from the scene — with fans now shocked as he prepares to make his comeback as a wizened old man after a series of health woes!

The Chinese-born action star broke out in the States with Mel Gibson in 1998's "Lethal Weapon Four," and went on to starring roles in hits including "Romeo Must Die' and "The One." Action fans were surprised, however, when Sylvester Stallone had Li's returning character was quickly written out of 2012's "The Expendables 2" — followed by Li revealing his health secrets!

Li went public in 2013 to announce that that he had a heart condition, and was also suffering from hyperthyroidism. He was also an Asian action star in the tradition of Jackie Chan, meaning that he often performed his own stunts and was struggling to recover from years of on-set injuries. Now fans are shocked to see 55-year-old Lit as he prepares for a comeback.

After a brief appearance in 2014's "The Expendables 3," Li managed a final starring role in 2016's "League of Gods" (as seen here promoting the film). Since then, Li's only appeared in one short film — and will play the elderly Emperor in Disney's 2020 live-action remake of "Mulan." And now the struggling star shockingly looks the part!

"It's heartbeaking," says one industry insider, "and a real blow for the Chinese film industry. Jet Li was set to rule the Asian film world after Jackie Chan. Now he's on the sidelines looking for roles he can handle. Jackie's nine years older and still making three or four films a year!"