In 1989, the original Kickboxer martial arts movie helped establish Jean-Claude Van Damme as an action star. Now, for the first time ever, the Kickboxer franchise is making the leap to video games with Force Multiplier Studios, a team of developers with experience on Call of Duty, Borderlands, Halo, Tomb Raider, and Mortal Kombat.
Screenwriter Dimitri Logothetis and producer Rob Hickman–two of the filmmakers behind the 2016 film Kickboxer: Vengeance and its sequel, Kickboxer: Retaliation–are working with Force Multiplier Studios to bring the Kickboxer video game to life. But for now, the game is at such an early stage of development that there’s nothing to show off.
While speaking with IGN, Force Multiplier Studios was very vague about whether Van Damme will lend his likeness to the game or participate in any way. Instead, the studio stated that the game “will combine the rich narrative of Kickboxer with kinetic martial arts action to deliver an intense, high-octane brawler, and feature iconic characters and locations from the franchise originally starring martial arts icon Jean-Claude Van Damme.”
Van Damme returned to the franchise in Kickboxer: Vengeance and Kickboxer: Retaliation, and he remains the star who is most associated with the films. According to IGN, Van Damme is also set to return for another sequel, Kickboxer: Armageddon, which is expected to film later this year. Outside of Kickboxer, Van Damme portrayed a variant of Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 1.
