Van Damme wants a true ‘Bloodsport’ sequel!

Jean Claude Van Damme’s first starring role was in ‘Bloodsport’ and is immediately made him into an international action star. One would imagine this would lead to a slew of sequels, and it did, but Van Damme had nothing to do with them and they didn’t have the same appeal as the original. So, there’s some news coming from TotalFilm.com and it has both good and bad sides.

In a recent interview with TotalFilm.com, Van Damme divulged that he really wants to do a “true” sequel to ‘Bloodsport’. He elaborated that he’s interested in telling a more mature story about the fighter, now older, perhaps even that he’s abusing his son. Does this sound bad? Personally, I say go for it! I admire filmmakers who choose to tackle “controversial” subject matter, such as Kevin Bacon who does it repeatedly.

I really enjoyed ‘Bloodsport’ and think Van Damme is a great action star, but ever since I saw ‘JCVD‘ I have had a whole new level of respect for him as an actor and a storyteller. ‘JCVD’ shows what Van Damme is truly made of when given the opportunity and reminds me of Rourke’s incredible comeback performance in ‘The Wrestler’. I fully support him returning to his first starring role and making it into something more than just a shallow action movie character.

So, what’s the bad side? You could probably guess, but it’s the fact that Van Damme is experiencing heavy resistance from the studio, who feels his story idea is too dark and is inappropriate. Check out this great little snippet from Van Damme’s interview, talking about the studio’s reaction:

“They told me, ‘No, no, no! You cannot make a movie in America where a father is abusing his son physically! It’s wrong.”

“And you cannot be a guy on drugs doing karate and shit like that.’ I said, ’Why? Why? Tell me why.’

“It’s against the rules of success. But I believe the other rules of success. To show something real.†

[source: TotalFilm.com]