Jean-Claude Van Damme says 'Double Impact 2' script finished; wants role in 'Bloodsport' remake

There are few who love Jean-Claude Van Damme more than yours truly. Don't believe me? Check out the shirt I attend all my meetings with colleagues in....

God damn right that's the Muscles from Brussels, lookin' like he just knocked the shit out of Chong Li! Without question, the two best movies JCVD has ever made were Bloodsport and Double Impact. Both are cult favorites and arguably two of the finest action/martial arts flicks of the late 80's and early 90's. Here's the thing, though: I'm not at all excited about the news that's been making the rounds about sequels/remakes of both of those two iconic flicks, mainly because it sounds like a bad idea. Nor does the latest info making the rounds spark my interest much because it doesn't signify any real progress, but at least we get some Double Impact 2 plot details.

Nextmovie had a chance to talk to JCVD, and he revealed that the script for a Double Impact sequel had been completed. We first learned about the development of the film back in 2010, with JCVD co-writing the script with Sheldon Lettich, who wrote a number of the actor's better flicks. The story would involve the twin brothers, Chad and Alex(both played by JCVD), in Los Angeles facing the Chinese Triads after Chad borrows money from them posing as Alex.

The most interesting part of the conversation to me was JCVD's clear understanding that despite his legend status and long career, he doesn't have the franchise history that others like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, and Sylvester Stallone(all his co-stars in The Expendables 2) have had. He still has Universal Soldier, which he just finished another installment of, but it's relegated to DVD Land. Maybe if The Expendables 2 does well, some studio may take a flyer on Double Impact 2, but I doubt we'd ever see it happen. At least not on the big screen.

Lastly, JCVD also spoke about the upcoming Bloodsport "reinvention", to be directed by Philip Noyce(Salt). It was in May of last year we learned about the potential remake, but there's been little movement on it since. The original film is...well, about half of it is the stuff of friggin' legend, as JCVD plays the real life Frank Dux, a Canadian soldier who goes AWOL in order to take part in a secret underground martial arts tournament. The other half of the film is crap on a stick, with JCVD being chased around Hong Kong by a young and out of shape Forest Whitaker. While there's still nothing new happening on the film, JCVD expressed his desire to be a part of it....

Van Damme: "I want to be in the film as a trainer, [but] I don't think the writer wants [me] to. He knows that 'Bloodsport' is a big film so he wants to get credit with all of that."

Yeah, and taking pot shots at the writer isn't going to help. The guy he's referring to is Robert Mark Kamen(Taken), who is transporting the story to Brazil and following an American soldier escaping the horrors of Afghanistan.

With Noyce at the helm, there's definitely a better chance of Bloodsport happening, and I'm betting he'll even find a place for JCVD to make a cameo. It was always disappointing to me that Bloodsport never spun off into a respectable franchise. Sure, there were three sequels, but they are all pieces of crap and JCVD doesn't appear in any of them.