Renny Harlin has signed on to direct the action-comedy Skiptrace, starring Jackie Chan, Seann William Scott and Bingbing Fan.

The story centers on a Hong Kong cop (Jackie Chan) whose niece (Bingbing Fan) is kidnapped by the crime syndicate leader he has been trying to put away for over a decade. He is forced to track down the only person who can help find his niece, a wise-cracking American gambler (Seann William Scott).

Sam Fell (ParaNorman) was initially attached to make his live-action debut, although he is no longer attached. Brian Gatewood, Alessandro Tanaka and Jay Longino wrote the screenplay, based on an original idea by Jackie Chan. Production is scheduled to begin in August. The project was originally set up at Exclusive Media Group, but since that company's disintegration, parent company Investment Strategies B.V. has moved it to one of their subsidiaries, Dasym Entertainment.

Renny Harlin most recently directed The Legend of Hercules starring Kellan Lutz.

Here is the official press release confirming the news.

BLOOM announced Renny Harlin (The Legend of Hercules, Die Hard 2: Die Harder) will direct action buddy comedy Skiptrace which will commence production on August 11, 2014. Starring Jackie Chan (Rush Hour, The Karate Kid), Seann William Scott (American Pie, Role Models) and Bingbing Fan (Iron Man 3), Skiptrace is written by Jay Longino with revisions by Brian Gatewood & Alessandro Tanaka and Geoff Moore & David Posmentier and BenDavid Grabinski. Talent International and Dasym Entertainment will produce along with Jackie Chan, Esmond Ren, Charlie Coker, Damien Saccani and David Gerson. The film is financed by Talent International and Dasym Entertainment (a subsidiary of Dasym Investment Strategies B.V., Exclusive Media's parent company). Alex Walton and Ken Kao's newly launched BLOOM will handle international sales on the film.

Skiptrace follows a Hong Kong detective Bennie Black (Chan), who has been tracking a dangerous crime boss, Victor Wong, for over a decade. When Bennie's beautiful young niece Bai (Bingbing Fan) gets into trouble with Wong's crime syndicate, he comes to the rescue and must track down the only man who can help her - a fast-talking American gambler named Connor Watts (Seann William Scott) who is also on the run from the mob. The unlikely pair embarks on a hilarious adventure from the wind swept dunes of the Gobi Desert to the rocky spires of the Huangshan Mountains.

Here's what BLOOM's Alex Walton had to say in a statement.

"Jackie Chan's international presence is unparalleled, and we're thrilled that Renny Harlin has come on board to direct this exhilarating and hilarious project. "Having Jackie, Renny and Seann involved will bring this wild script to life with the perfect blend of action and comedy."

Jackie Chan and Bingbing Fan are represented by WME. Renny Harlin is represented by UTA.