While it's true that we haven't seen much of Chris Tucker ("Rush Hour," 1998) lately, that's about to change.

He's booked a role in the star-studded, true-life drama "Air Jordan," due out next year — his first role in quite some time.

If you had asked me just a few months ago, I might have said that, yes, Chris Tucker had quit acting. His last film or TV role came back in 2016 — a supporting turn in the war drama "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk."

And the work had been sparse prior to that. Quite a change of pace from his heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s, when he was one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, thanks to the success of the Rush Hour trilogy of buddy-cop blockbusters.

In fact, he's appeared in just three things since "Rush Hour 3" in 2007.

It's worth noting that none of those things was small-time. Along with the high-profile "Billy Lynn," directed by the highly decorated Ang Lee, Tucker's other two projects were a role in the Oscar-nominated "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012), and his own standup special on Netflix in 2015.

"Air Jordan" is going to be a pretty big deal as well. The dramatization of Nike's pursuit of Michael Jordan as a spokesperson is being written by power duo Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (of 1997's "Good Will Hunting" fame), who will also star.

It's unclear what Tucker will do after that. There's long been talk of a "Rush Hour 4," but nothing concrete has come of it so far.

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