Jean-Claude Van Damme is back for 'Kickboxer' Remake as Tony Jaa Exits

For awhile there it looked as if two Jean-Claude Van Damme classics were going to be remade without the Muscles from Brussels' involvement. While the Bloodsport film keeps kicking along, the Kickboxer remake has come up against an enemy that only Van Damme can beat into submission.

Scheduling conflicts have forced Tony Jaa to drop out, but that has left the door open for Van Damme to take his place. Only now he'll be the master rather than the student as he was in the original 1989 film. Van Damme will play an updated version of Master Chow, who trains an American fighter in the ways of kickboxing so he can defeat brutal Muay Thai champ Tong Po (Dave Bautista) and avenge his brother's death. Alain Moussi stars, with UFC champ Georges St. Pierre also a part of the lineup.

Unfortunately, the loss of Tony Jaa isn't the only major problem the film has to overcome. Director Stephen Fung (Tai Chi Zero) has dropped out and been replaced by John Stockwell, who last helmed the forgettable Gina Carano flick, In the Blood.  [THR]

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Tony Jaa and Scott Adkins Join the 'Kickboxer' Remake

When people talk about the greatest martial artist in the world of cinema, and the world in general, one name that is always in the mix is Tony Jaa. The muay thai master has been killing it for years in The Protector and Ong-Bak films, busting jaws with a combination of sharp elbows and knee strikes. He's set to become a bigger name in the U.S. as part of Fast & Furious 7, but after that he's moving on to a proper fight flick in the remake of Kickboxer.

Jaa, along with The Expendables 2's Scott Adkins, are joining Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Georges St. Pierre (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Alain Moussi (X-men: Days of Future Past) in the remake of Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1989 actioner. They'll be part of a whopping 20 martial arts in the story of Kurt Sloan (Moussi), who travels to Thailand to learn kickboxing and avenge the death of his brother. Bautista will be taking on the role of the evil kickboxking champ, Tong Po.

Stephen Fung, who directed Tai Chi 0 and its sequel Tai Chi Hero, will be at the helm when production begins.

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Tony Jaa Throws Some Bows in New Trailer for 'The Protector 2'

As the martial arts excitement continues to build for The Raid 2 (and for damn good reason), let's not forget that there's another genre film that will be hoping to match it in terms of sheer violence. After nine years, Muay Thai superstar Tony Jaa returns for The Protector 2, which finds his character under assault from the cops, rival fighters, and the nieces of a dead mob boss.

Although we've seen a couple of trailers already, a new one has been released which gives us our best look yet at RZA hamming it up as a crime lord running an underground fighting ring that Jaa gets roped into. Meanwhile, Jaa must also find his missing elephant. Yeah, it sounds crazy but the plot is secondary to the fighting, which looks faster and more deadly than the prior film. Let's just say that it doesn't look like Jaa has lost a step, in fact he looks better than ever. Now that he has a key role in Fast & Furious 7, Jaa could making moves in America just as Jet Li did years ago.

The Protector 2 hits theaters on May 2nd, but can be seen March 27th On Demand.

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Watch Vin Diesel and Tony Jaa Combat Train for 'Fast & Furious 7'; New Trailer for 'The Protector 2'

Vin Diesel is 46 years old, but you'd never know it to look at him in this new training video for Fast & Furious 7. Growing older also doesn't seem to have affected his social networking proficiency, as the popular star's Facebook page is rapidly approaching 50 million likes, leading to the release of this footage of him sparring with martial arts superstar Tony Jaa of Ong Bak fame.

Post by Vin Diesel.

So this video is incredible for any number of reasons. For one thing, it shows Diesel is quite the bad ass in his own right and not just a guy who looks tough on screen. But also it's great to see Jaa, who co-stars in the film as well, enjoying the process of making movies again. He famously became disillusioned after the Ong Bak franchise and left the business for a time, but now he's back in a major way. He's also got a sequel to his unquestioned classic The Protector on the way, for which an extended, 3D version of the trailer has been released.

Fast & Furious 7 opens on July 11th, while The Protector 2 hits Thailand tomorrow.

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Martial Arts Superstar Tony Jaa Joins 'Fast & Furious 7'

When it comes to action movies, martial arts in particular, who and what is hot comes in waves. The trend of the moment is the bone-breaking pencat silat style personified by Iko Uwais in The Raid: Redemption. And we've seen Uwais roll that sudden popularity into other roles, such as Keanu Reeves' Man of Tai Chi. But just a couple of years ago, the guy everybody was obsessed with was Tony Jaa, whose muay thai powered a number of modern day fighting classics, like Ong Bak and The Protector. He faded away for awhile (he left to become a monk at one point) but has been making a comeback, and now he's just signed on for his English-language debut where he'll get to throw down with Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson.

THR reports that Jaa has joined the increasingly awesome cast of Fast & Furious 7. His role is unclear at this point but he joins other new additions Jason Statham and MMA champ Ronda Rousey. Jaa had this to say about the signing...

Jaa: “I have been a big fan of the Fast and Furious franchise. The films are fast paced, fun and keep the audience involved. There is a great mix of humor and action, something I really appreciate. There is no better film to be involved in for a first U.S. studio production.”

If you thought Joe Taslim and Gina Carano brought an amazing physicality to Fast & Furious 6, wait until you get a load of Jaa. When asked about going toe-to-toe with the film's biggest heavy-hitters, Jaa said...

Jaa: "Having a chance to work with Vin Diesel and The Rock already makes me a winner."

So far we've been lucky enough to see all of the brawls fans have been clamoring for; Diesel vs. Johnson and Carano vs. Michelle Rodriguez. We also got Taslim making a mockery out of Tyrese Gibson and Sung Kang. Perhaps Jaa will get to embarrass Paul Walker, too?


James Wan is directing Fast & Furious 7, which will take the action back to Los Angeles, for release on July 11th 2014. Check out a little bit of what Jaa can do below.

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Tony Jaa to star in Malaysian fight sequel, 'KL Gangster 2'?

The struggles of Thai martial arts superstar, Tony Jaa, have been documented fairly well here on this site. Frankly, we love Tony Jaa here, and we consider movies like Ong Bak and The Protector to be two genuine classics. Nobody throws an elbow like that guy. But the turmoil surrounding Ong Bak 2 and the nonsensical Ong Bak 3(nearly made my worsts list) sent Jaa scrambling to a monastery to become a monk for a year. Seriously. Well now he's back, and he looks to be ready to reclaim his throne as the best action star on the planet.

Earlier this year we received a shock when Jaa was confirmed to be co-starring in a sequel to The Protector, which we hopefully see some time in 2012. And now comes a rumor that Jaa may be featured in KL Gangster 2, the sequel to one of the most successful Malaysian action flicks. The story centers on two brothers caught up in the seedy criminal underworld, one who finds himself pulled back into the life after trying to get a fresh start. Along with director Syamsul Yusof, the entire cast is expected to return for the story which is being planned as a prequel.


Take this with a grain of salt. Jaa tends to be mercurial with his projects, so let's just wait for something more official before we get too excited. [Yahoo Singapore]

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The Punch Drunk Pocast Episode #34: Where the Wild Things Are; Paranormal Activity, Ong Bak 2

This week on the Punch Drunk Podcast...

The NFL season has wreaked havoc on our movie schedule, so we've got a ton of ground to cover and as usual we spend as much time listening to ourselves talk as possible!

-First, John and I take a ride on the wild side as we review Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are! The greatest children's book adaptation ever?

-Paranormal Activity has been terrifying audiences across the country for weeks, but is it really all it's been hyped up to be? We take a look at the film some people are calling the "scariest movie of all-time"!

-I try to divorce myself from Vince Vaughn's brutal Couples Retreat...

-Did we get a kick(pun intended) out of Tony Jaa's latest martial arts epic, Ong Bak 2? The answer lies within!

-We gush like schoolgirls over the full extended trailer of The Expendables; plus we discuss Bryan Singer's possible return to the X-men!

-Finally, we break down Rotten Tomatoes' list of the worst movies of the decade! Did anything we like make the list?

All this, plus we weigh our RedBox options and John's desire to be an OBGYN. The Punch Drunk Podcast is ours and your escape into the world of movie geekdom. You can find us on ITunes and wherever else podcasts are held captive. Or you can subscribe to us directly right here.

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