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 Director Stephen Fung (Tai Chi Zero) has dropped out and been replaced by John Stockwell, who last helmed the forgettable Gina Carano flick, In the Blood.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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Jean-Claude Van Damme's 'Kickboxer' Next to Get a Remake

So there are basically two camps when it comes to the cinematic canon of the Mussels from Brussels, Jean-Claude Van Damme. You're either a fan of Bloodsport, in which he jumpkicks a lot of random foreign dudes on the way to victory. Or you're a fan of Kickboxer, in which he jumpkicks a lot of random foreign dudes on the way to victory. Well, the debate as to which film is actually better has just been given a modern twist, because now both films are receiving remakes.

Yesterday we learned that the Bloodsport remake was moving forward with James McTeigue at the helm, and now it'll be Stephen Fung (Tai Chi Zero) directing a Kickboxer update. The original 1989 film had Van Damme as an American in Bangkok who takes up kickboxing to seek revenge against brutal champion Tong Po for paralyzing his brother in a fight. The film was one of Van Damme's biggest hits, and spawned a series of terrible sequels, most of which starred Sasha Mitchell. The remake will be written by TV vets Jim McGrath and Dimitri Logothetis, and as of now there's no word if Van Damme will be associated. Interesting, this is the the third Van Damme film to be slated for a remake this year, along with the sci-fi flick Timecop, and none of them have the actor involved in any way.

Filming on Kickboxer is set to begin later this year or early next, with casting already underway. Here's hoping a Double Impact remake is next, and that if they're going to really remake Kickboxer, they don't leave out this scene....

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