James McTeigue Enters the Ring for 'Bloodsport' Remake

It's probably being generous to call this new Bloodsport film a remake because it really doesn't have much in common with the 1988 martial arts classic that helped turn Jean Claude Van Damme into a superstar. Dreamed up as a total reinvention by writer Robert Mark Kamen (Taken), and with Philip Noyce set to direct it, little has been heard about it other than a brief feud that erupted when Van Damme expressed a desire to be a part of the film, which Kamen bluntly smacked down. But those hoping the film had quietly gone away will be disappointed, as it's definitely still happening, only with another director taking over.

Variety reports that V for Vendetta and Ninja Assassin director James McTeigue has taken over for Noyce, and it sounds like there may be some slight alterations to the proposed story. Craig Rosenberg has been brought on to rewrite the script under McTeigue's guidance, which had been about an Afghanistan war veteran who brings a Brazilian martial art known as Vale Tudo into combat in a lethal tournament.

This still feels like a project that shouldn't be happening without JCVD involved somehow, but we'll see what happens when filming begins early next year.