Two films that featured action star Jean-Claude Van Damme are getting Hollywood reboots. New versions of his 1989 film Kickboxer and 1988’s Bloodsport are in the works from different studios.
Deadline reports that the new Kickboxer is being set up by Radar Pictures, which worked on The Last Samurai and Riddick. The producers have recruited Hong Kong director Stephen Fung to helm the reboot. Fung, who had success in China with Tai Chi Zero, will work with writers Jim McGrath and Dimitri Logothetis and producers Ted Field and Nick Celozzi. Production is set to start early next year and casting has begun.
Bloodsport is set up at Relativity with James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) directing. According to Screenrant, Taken’s Robert Kamen and Salt’s Phillip Noyce were originally working on that project, but Craig Rosenberg (The Uninvited) did a re-write for the script. No actors are attached to this project either.
The original film had Van Damme as Frank Dux, an American Army officer who learns ninjutsu to fight in a Hong Kong tournament called Kumite. The new version will be set in the 21st century and focus on Brazilian Vale Tudo instead.
Van Damme is still working of course, having recently appeared in The Expendables 2. He recently made Welcome To The Jungle and Enemies Closer.
image: Amazon