Chuck Norris made himself into a legend of the large and small screens alike over the many decades of his career, and the death of the Walker, Texas Ranger vet prompted many celebrities to speak out with tributes to him. Ranging from fellow action stars of the 20th century like Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme to horror master Stephen King himself, the people mourning his death shared kind words in his memory.

The family of Chuck Norris confirmed that the "sudden" death of the acting legend occurred on March 19, with a statement that they would "like to keep the circumstances private" but also letting well-wishers know that he "was surrounded by his family and was at peace." He died less than two weeks after his 86th birthday, not too long after he was still providing octogenarian workout updates.

Those who knew and respected Norris wasted no time in penning tributes to him on social media after the sad news broke, with Sylvester Stallone sharing this via Instagram in honor of his The Expendables 2 costar:

Fellow Expendables franchise vet Dolph Lundgren, who is making headlines again for his work on the original Masters of the Universe movie, also took the time to share a photo and a kind message. He posted:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, who was name-dropped by Cody Rhodes for his Street Fighter work, is an action star of the same era that produced Chuck Norris... and yet another actor credited with an appearance in The Expendables 2. He wrote on Instagram:

Of course, Norris' body of work didn't just touch the people who he worked with on the big screen, as author Jack Carr made clear on social media as well. Carr wrote The Terminal List source material that inspired Chris Pratt's show of the same name (available streaming now with an Amazon Prime subscription). The former U.S. Navy Commander-turned-writer shared:

Lee Majors, another 20th century TV legend as the star of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Fall Guy, reflected on his time working with Chuck Norris. While Majors may be best remembered for his more prominent projects, he did appear in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger back in 1998. He wrote on Instagram:

While the late actor is obviously remembered for his body of work in film and television, some people who have never seen an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, a single second of Firewalker, or witnessed the reunion of action stars in the Expendables franchise may be familiar with him for the genre of humor known as Chuck Norris jokes. Stephen King himself honored Norris on X (formerly known as Twitter) by choosing his two top Chuck Norris jokes:

• "My fave Chuck Norris joke: Chuck doesn't flush the toilet, he scares the shit out of it."
• "Second fave: When he was born, Chuck Norris drove his mother home from the hospital."

Two solid choices from the author! Stephen King, who recently shared high praise for Paradise Season 2, also got serious to name one particular movie that he thinks is "great."

Considering that Stephen King has been scaring the hell out of people going back to the publication of Carrie in 1974, his comment about a somewhat obscure film scaring his kids is a pretty high compliment. All in all, the messages celebrating Norris' life and accomplishments make it feel all the more appropriate that his final post on his own Instagram account prior to the announcement of his death was filled with action:

It's a safe bet that there are plenty more tributes on the way in the wake of Chuck Norris' death, although hopefully the family's request for privacy will be honored. If you want to check out the show that helped solidify his legacy as an actor, you can find Walker, Texas Ranger streaming free on The Roku Channel and Pluto TV.

Despite often being lumped in with many of the most deservedly reviled video game movies, 1994’s Street Fighter has its champions who praise its charms, with Jean-Claude Van Damme’s spirited Guile performance as one of those draws. Understandably, the actor filling Guile’s boots in the upcoming video game adaptation aims to deliver a performance that is on par with the Muscles from Brussels, if not better, and WWE champ Cody Rhodes had one character-specific moment he was eager to bring to the big screen.

Quickly shaping up to be one of the most anticipated action movies releasing in 2026, Street Fighter boasts a wildly talented cast of badasses, with Rhodes as one of the few whose other day job also consists of choreographed brawling on a regular basis. He didn’t back down from filming challenges either, taking on most of his own stunts. Speaking with TheRingReport, he addressed one of those stunts that he very specifically wanted to attempt: Guile’s signature move. As Rhodes put it:

The athlete’s comments tap into the idea that being a professional wrestler comes with its own set of presumptions, with one of those apparently being that they’re knowledgeable about wire-work and that side of the stunt world. Not so much the case for Rhodes, but it sounds like he was game to try his hand at it. Or his feet, as it were.

When it comes to video game fighters’ moves, I’d 100% put Guile’s flash kick in the Top 10, maybe even the Top 5, depending on how fluid my memories are when asked. It’s a classic through and through, and even if it’s not quite as universally aped as Ryu’s Hadouken move, I can imagine that other fans would get very vocal about it online if Rhodes’ Guile doesn’t pull it off at least once.

For all that Van Damme is one of the most celebrated action movie stars of any era, I can’t help but think that Rhodes’ fight scenes in Street Fighter will look worlds more impressive than what the latter did to his then-ailing co-star Raul Julia.

While the film doesn't have a finished cut yet, given all the effects going into it, Cody Rhodes said that director Kitao Sakurai made sure to bring the cast into his vision by showing them early edits of the scenes being filmed. And for Rhodes, it was like a jolt of adrenaline, saying it made him feel "ready to run through a brick wall." He also shared:

Beyond Cody Rhodes, Street Fighter boasts a massive cast that also includes Noah Centineo, Jason Momoa, Roman Reighs, 50 Cent, Andrew Koji, David Dastmalchian, Andew Schulz, Callina Long and more. Comedic actors Eric André and Kyle Mooney also co-star, and what I wouldn't give to see those two guys squaring off for stunt-filled fisticuffs.

Street Fighter is set to bring its badassery to the Halloween season, as it'll hit theaters on October 16, 2026.

Ah, the ‘90s. While there wasn’t the boom of comic book movies like we had in the 2000s, there were still some noteworthy standouts, such as the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Crow, and of course, Blade (which is still just as good as you remember it being).

However, one comic book movie that I think way too many people sleep on these days is 1994’s Timecop, starring the Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme. The story of a government-endorsed time travel police force, and the problems that occur once the wrong people are control of it, Timecop was a hit in the ‘90s, but it has seemingly fallen into obscurity these days (even though there have been talks about a reboot for years).

So, why does Timecop still kick ass? Well, you’re about to find out.

I'm Sorry, But This Is Arguably JCVD's Best Movie Ever

You know what? Some people love the Street Fighter movie (which also came out in ‘94), while others might point to Kickboxer, or Bloodsport as Van Damme’s best movies. However, for me, there’s a clear winner, and that movie is Timecop.

Based on a three-part Dark Horse comic story called, “Time Cop: A Man Out of Time,” the movie version stars JCVD as a time traveling cop who is out to save his wife (Mia Sara) who gets killed in an explosion. You might be asking, “How is he able to save his wife if she was blown up?” But, that’s where the time travel aspect comes in, which I’ll get into soon. The rest of the story follows our hero, Max Walker (Van Damme), as he tries to stop a corrupt politician (Ron Silver) who is going back in time to rise to power.

And, it's awesome. As a ‘90s kid, Van Damme was like the alternative action hero. He wasn’t buff like Schwarzenegger, or Stallone. Instead, he was a martial artist who really shined in martial arts movies. However, Timecop is not that. It's the kind of film that would be cool even if it didn’t have martial arts in it, but is all the better for it. The movie kind of reminds me of the Highlander series with its time component, but sci-fi rather than fantasy (and let us never speak of the sci-fi inspired Highlander II: The Quickening).

The time travel aspect in this movie is just so cool, and JCVD is the cherry on top. But, about that time travel…

The Time Travel Concept In This Movie Is Really Cool

I like time travel movies, but the one thing I especially like are the different “rules” in each one. For example, time travel in the Terminator movies isn’t the same as time travel in a movie like, say, The Butterfly Effect. The same goes for a comedy like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which plays fast and loose with the rules, as opposed to a hard sci-fi film like Primer, which is so thought out that you likely have to watch it a few times to even catch what the heck is going on.

Well, Timecop has its own rules of time travel, and I must say, I think they’re really cool. In this universe, you can only go backward in time rather than forward. That said, kind of like the Time Variance Authority (TVA) in Loki that is meant to prevent time altering shenanigans from occurring, there is a police force called the TEC, which stands for the Time Enforcement Commission (I know the TVA came before the TEC in the comics. I’m aware of this).

Like many time travel stories, going back in the past and changing things can alter the present. But, one thing that’s novel here is the idea that your present version and your past version can’t touch. Otherwise, they’ll have a face-melting disintegration that still looks pretty cool today.

I love this concept. It’s kind of like trying not to cross the streams in Ghostbusters, but gruesome. Honestly, does it get any better than this?

The Story Genuinely Feels Comic-Booky

I’m going to be real with you. Sometimes, I don’t like when my movies are too comic booky. For example, I honestly do not like Batman Forever because I think it feels way too silly (which is strange, since I love Batman & Robin…but mostly because it leans so heavily into the cheese). That said, I think it really all depends on the character, since I have a major soft spot for the first Judge Dredd movie with Sylvester Stallone, and that’s as comic booky as you can get.

What I’m trying to say is, I’m super inconsistent. I guess that’s why I really like the silly, comic book-like vibe of Timecop, because I think it works in its favor. The movie starts off during the Civil War, and we see some Confederate soldiers get blasted away by some futuristic weaponry, and like, okay. Cool. That feels like something straight out of a comic book.

Now, as somebody who never actually read the comic, I can’t tell you if this movie stays true to the overall tone of the source material. I also can’t tell you that the movie works outside of being a comic book flick, since I think there are probably better Van Damme action movies out there (The Quest might be my favorite).

That said, when viewed as a comic book movie, I think it really works. The story is a bit predictable, but I want it to be. The important thing is, it feels like it came right off the page, and that’s why I love it.

And The Action, Oh Baby

Okay, so like I just said, there are probably better JCVD action movies out there (Like Universal Soldier. That’s another good one). However, the thing I really like about Timecop is that the action feels more varied than many of Van Damme’s other ventures, and mostly because the time periods play such a large part in this film. For example, when Van Damme goes to the 1920s, he’s fighting these old-timey dudes, but he’s still doing martial arts, which is a really interesting visual.

And then you have the scene where he's in his underwear fighting people with knives (This is also where we get the iconic leaping split scene on the counters). There’s a real sense of danger in this moment, and I just love that it fits into a movie that also has somebody shooting Confederate soldiers with futuristic firepower.

What I’m trying to say is, all of the action in this movie fits. Even though I’ve seen Van Damme kick people in the face in countless other movies, it just feels so right in this one. Traveling back in time and kicking ass will have consequences in the future, and I just love the idea of somebody’s offspring being messed up because Van Damme kicked their ancestor’s ass decades ago in the past.

It just all works. So, while it might not be the best Van Damme action movie, it’s still definitely my favorite. It’s for this reason that I think Timecop deserves more love and attention than it often gets these days.

But, what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Many of the biggest action stars of all time, in the best action movies, got their start in the 1980s and 1990s when action movies really started to dominate Hollywood. Stars like Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, and Keanu Reeves all started making their mark in those seminal decades in film. This gallery is a tribute to all the action stars who are still making movies today, but began their careers decades ago.

Keanu Reeves

While he broke out in comedies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Parenthood, it wasn't long before Keanu Reeves was starring in big action flicks like Point Blank and Speed. Reeves isn't just an action star, but with the lead in two now-iconic franchises, The Matrix and John Wick, he definitely belongs near the top of any list like this.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie's career started early. She was just 6 years old when she appeared in her first movie in 1982 alongside her dad, Jon Voight. By the late '90s, she was on her way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the world. She got into action movies with films like Gone In 60 Seconds and her biggest franchise, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and while she has always kept one foot in more indie-type movies (including as a director), she's been a steady action star for decades.

Nicolas Cage

It's hard to come up with a Hollywood star with a more diverse acting career than Nicolas Cage. His rage is actually pretty amazing, and that certainly includes starring in some great action movies, like the iconic Con Air and the National Treasure movies.

Scarlett Johansson

Like a lot of actors on this list, Scarlett Johansson can't be pigeon-holed as simply an action star. She is, however, one of the major players in the MCU as Black Widow, and has starred in other action flicks like Jurassic World Rebirth and Lucy.

Wesley Snipes

Most of the biggest box office successes of Wesley Snipes' early career were comedies like Major League, Wildcats, and White Men Can't Jump. In the early '90s he transistioned into action movies with leading roles in the likes of New Jack City, Passenger 57, and Rising Son. He also starred in Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone, and, of course, as Blade in three movies.

Halle Berry

You might not think of Halle Berry as an action star... until you remember how many superhero movies she's starred in. Not only was she an important part of the X-Men franchise, but she was also Batwoman in 2004 and has also starred in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and others.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

This one is a little tricky. Technically, action movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger had his first role way back in 1970 with Hercules in New York, but that was really a one-off B-movie that was soon forgotten. After he spent the 1970s winning every bodybuilding trophy on Earth, he entered Hollywood properly in 1982 when he starred in Conan the Barbarian. Everything since is action history.

Robert Downey, Jr.

Robert Downey, Jr. doesn't jump off the page as an action star. The Oscar winner has proven he can star in any genre, but as the anchor of the MCU movies for more than a decade, he definitely belongs on this list.

Tom Cruise

There's nothing to be said about Tom Cruise that hasn't already been written, right? One of the biggest stars in Hollywood history, Cruise has starred in action movies like Top Gun and its sequel, a couple of Jack Reacher movies, the Mission: Impossible franchise, and great one-offs like Edge of Tomorrow, War of the Worlds, and Minority Report, to name just a few. Plus, he famously does a ton of his own stunts, which shows just how much he belongs on any list of big action stars.

Milla Jovovich

Milla Jovovich started as a model, but transitioned to movies with films like Return to the Blue Lagoon and Dazed and Confused. Soo,n though, she started popping up in legendary action movies like The Fifth Element and, most notably, as Alice in six Resident Evil movies.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

In the '80s, a whole slew of action-first stars emerged, and one of the most popular was Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme first gained fame in No Retreat, No Surrender, and followed that with hits like Bloodsport and Cyborg.

Linda Hamilton

Director James Cameron can be divisive, but you can't argue that he knows how to create female action star leads with great parts and great casting. Linda Hamilton is a legend from her appearances in the Terminator movies over the years.

Kurt Russell

Okay, we have to acknowledge that Kurt Russell's career started when he was a child star with Disney way back in the 1960s. In the '80s, he fully dove into action flicks in a big way with movies like Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China, all directed by one of the decade's best directors, John Carpenter. He's since been in a slew of action movies.

Mel Gibson

With the Mad Max franchise and the Lethal Weapon movies, Mel Gibson would be on this list even if those were his only movies. Of course, he has so much more, like Braveheart, Ransom, and many of the other best action movies of the '90s.

Thandiwe Newton

Thandiwe Newton debuted in 1991's comedy Flirting, and in the '90s and beyond, she's starred in action movies like Mission: Impossible 2, The Chronicles of Riddick, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and 2012. She's also starred in TV shows like Westworld that fit in this genre, too.

Dolph Lundgren

One of the pillars of cheesy (and awesome) '80s action is the great Dolph Lundgren. From fantasy heroes like He-Man in 1987's Masters of the Universe to communist boxers like Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, he's been a staple for decades in lots of action movies, including part of the O.G. cast in The Expendables franchise.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu kicked off her career in the early '90s, and before too long, she started doing some awesome action movies. Probably the most notable are the Charlie's Angels movies and the Kill Bill movies, but she's also got some less-well-known ones like The Man with the Iron Fists, directed by RZA, and even superhero movies, like Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Jason Statham

Like other actors on this list, Jason Statham didn't start in true action flicks. His first roles were in the Guy Ritchie films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but within a couple of years, he became a full-blown action hero in The Transporter and The Italian Job. Now it seems like he's in all the biggest action franchises, like The Expendables and the Fast & Furious movies.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron is one of the most versatile actresses in Hollywood. She won an Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the terrifying true story Monster. She's also been in acclaimed dramas like The Road, Cider House Rules, and Bombshell. Of course, she's starred in a whole slew of great action movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, Æon Flux, and a few of the Fast & Furious movies.

Jet Li

Jet Li started out in movies in Hong Kong in the early 1980s, where he quickly established himself as one of the great martial arts stars in Chinese-language films. After a decade and a half in Hong Kong, he moved to Hollywood in the late '90s, starring first as the villain in Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998. He became such a big action star that he was included in the first three Expendables movies.

Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner might not seem like the typical action star, but he definitely is. Movies like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Postman, and the incredibly underrated Waterworld prove that when he wants to be, he can be a great action hero.

Michelle Yeoh

Like some other actors on this list, Michelle Yeoh starred in martial arts movies in Hong Kong in the '90s. Her breakout film in the West was as Wai Lin in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, where she showed the whole world her stage fighting and stunt skills. Since then, she's been in hits like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and, of course, Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Bruce Willis

There's no way this list would be complete without the great Bruce Willis! Die Hard will always be one of the best action movies of all time and in many ways helps define what a action movie in the 1980s looked and felt like. Only Willis could have pulled off the the wit and charm of John McClane. He's been in a ton of action movies since, of course. He is now retired, due to his health, but he worked right up until he no longer could.

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz took a long hiatus from acting, finally returning in the 2025 Netflix release, appropriately called Back in Action. While she may be best known for her roles in romcoms like There's Something About Mary and The Mask and dramas like Gangs of New York and Vanilla Sky, she's had her fair share of action hits too, like Charlie's Angels and Knight and Day.

Steven Seagal

It's easy to forget just how huge an action star Steven Seagal was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He actually sort of dominated the box office with movies like Hard To Kill, Above The Law, Mark For Death, and Out For Justice. He reached the artistic pinnacle of his career with 1992's Under Siege. It's not just a great movie for teenage boys like his first four movies; it's legitimately a great movie, with great performances from Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gary Busey. Sure, he's not making movies on that level anymore, but he's still been churning out straight-to-video-type releases for decades.

Peter Weller

Peter Weller's breakout came in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension in 1984, but he really hit the big time with 1987's classic RoboCop. Sure, it was insanely violent, but RoboCop had a unique political message, too. Weller's been going strong ever since.

Robert Patrick

The iconic T-1000 in Terminator 2 became one of the great action villains of the 1990s. Robert Patrick played the role of the callous, cold robot killer perfectly. It established him as a legit action star, and he's been busy ever since.

Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke isn't only an action star. In fact, most of his roles have been in serious dramas, starting with movies like The Pope of Greenwich Village and 9½ Weeks in the 1980s, but he's definitely proven his action bona fides with roles in Iron Man 2, Sin City, and The Expendables.

Matt Damon

Anyone who has starred as Jason Bourne in four films deserves to be on this list. Sure, Matt Damon might not be the first actor you think of as an action hero, but come on! You can't deny that he belongs on this list for those films alone. Throw in movies like The Martian and Elysium, and he definitely should be here.

Dwayne Johnson

We're making a slight exception here. Technically, Dwayne Johnson's first movie credit came in 2001 in The Mummy Returns, but he had been quite famous for years for his work in the WWE throughout the 1990s. So while he didn't get his start in movies until later, he was a well-established star years before that. Of course, in the two and a half decades since his first movie role, he's become one of the biggest action heroes of all time.

Zoe Bell

This is another interesting case. Zoe Bell's first acting role in a movie was in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof in 2007. However, she had already built a legendary career as a stunt woman going back to the 1990s. With the Academy Awards (finally) adding a trophy for best stunts, we're going to include Bell here, because she's been performing in movies for decades.

Will Smith

He started as a rapper, then got into acting with comedy, and in the '90s, Will Smith became a big action star with movies like Independence Day, Bad Boys, and Men in Black. He's proven to be a very versatile actor over the years, starring in every genre of film you can think of.

Think of your favorite movie character of all time. There is a good chance that the actor who ended up playing that part is not the first actor the studio approached. See for yourself by taking a look at this list of celebrities who decided to pass on a movie role that would turn out to make cinematic history.

Will Smith (Neo In The Matrix)

It is actually pretty easy for us to picture what the Matrix movies might have been like with Will Smith as Neo. However, the Academy Award winner seems to believe that Keanu Reeves was the better choice to play the chosen one in the mind-bending, dystopian sci-fi movie classic, claiming in a video on his YouTube channel that he would have "ruined it."

Jodie Foster (Princess Leia in Star Wars)

Fresh off her Academy Award-nominated breakthrough role in 1976's Taxi Driver, a teenage Jodie Foster was offered the chance to be a part of the Star Wars movies as Princess Leia Organa. As she revealed to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, the two-time Oscar winner had a contractual obligation to an unnamed Disney movie, allowing Carrie Fisher to win the role.

Tom Hanks (Jerry Maguire In Jerry Maguire)

Tom Hanks was on top of the world with two Oscar wins (for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump) when he was offered to play a sports agent down on his luck in Jerry Maguire. He ended up passing on the eponymous role from Cameron Crowe's 1996 dramedy and later told Access Hollywood (via FandomWire), "I think you look at it now and it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise," who would receive a nod from the Academy for his performance.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Patrick Bateman In American Psycho)

Christian Bale once told GQ that every one of his roles was first offered to Leonardo DiCaprio and one confirmed example is Patrick Bateman in 2000's American Psycho. The future Oscar winner told The Morning Call that he passed on playing the sadistic yuppie because he felt the script “didn’t mean anything in the end," but rumor has it Bale's stepmom, Gloria Steinem, convinced DiCaprio that it would be bad for his post-Titanic, romantic heartthrob reputation at the time.

Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Predator In Predator)

The titular terrifying alien enemy from 1987's Predator looked a lot different when Jean-Claude Van Damme was still in the role, according to THR's oral history. The Belgian actor star actually shot some footage in the original insect-like suit before deciding he would rather not be hidden in his own movie, leading to a redesign of the costume and the casting of 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall.

Jack Nicholson (Michael Corleone In The Godfather)

While we cannot imagine anyone other than Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, Jack Nicholson probably would have been great in the Godfather movies. However, the three-time Oscar winner refused the offer, explaining to Movieline in 2004 (via ScreenRant) that he believed "Italians should play Italians."

John Travolta (Forrest Gump In Forrest Gump)

When speaking with MTV News (via Collider), John Travolta revealed that he had no regrets about turning down the title role of the Best Picture Oscar winner Forrest Gump and it is no wonder why. Not only did Tom Hanks embody the role to Oscar-winning acclaim but Travolta found career-rejuvenating success with Pulp Fiction in 1994 instead.

Burt Reynolds (James Bond In Live And Let Die)

In 2015, Burt Reynolds told USA Today that, when approached to be Sean Connery's replacement in the James Bond films, he believed the public would not accept a 007 with an American accent. However, he would later come to believe that, "It was a stupid thing to say. I could've done it and I could've done it well."

Eddie Murphy (Winston Zeddemore In Ghostbusters)

While appearing on The Tonight Show in 2019, Eddie Murphy was asked by Jimmy Fallon if it is true that he passed on playing Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters. The comedian confirmed that it was true but added that it allowed him the opportunity to lead an even bigger hit from 1984: Beverly Hills Cop.

John Lithgow (Seth Brundle In The Fly)

Jeff Goldblum's iconic role from David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly was previously offered to John Lithgow, who told IndieWire that he said no, not wanting to play "something so grotesque.” Having witnessed Seth Brundle's transformation into a half-human, half-insect in the intense body horror movie, we cannot say we blame him.

Tom Selleck (Indiana Jones In Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

Having already worked with Harrison Ford three times before, George Lucas was reluctant to cast the Han Solo actor as Indiana Jones, opening up the opportunity for a rotation of actors, including Tom Selleck. As he recalled on Today, the actor was forced to pass on 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, due to his commitment to the CBS crime drama, Magnum P.I.

Christopher Lee (Dr. Loomis In Halloween)

While already a horror movie icon at the time for his acclaimed portrayal of Dracula and role in 1973's The Wicker Man, Christopher Lee could have added one of the all-time best horror movies, 1978's Halloween, to his resume. According to The Digital Fix, he would come to regret the decision to pass on the role of Michael Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, who was immortalized by Donald Pleasance instead.

Christina Applegate (Elle Woods In Legally Blonde)

Before Reese Witherspoon made Elle Woods an icon among fictional lawyers in Legally Blonde and among fictional politicians in the sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, the role was offered to Christina Applegate. The former Married... with Children star later explained to Entertainment Tonight that she was afraid of repeating the ditzy blonde but jokes it was a "stupid move."

Emily Blunt (Black Widow In Iron Man 2)

Scarlett Johansson was perfect as Natasha Romanoff but Emily Blunt would have made a killing as the Avenger also called Black Widow. The English actor explained to Howard Stern that she could not originate the role for the MCU in 2010's Iron Man 2 because she was contractually obligated to appear in that year's adaptation of Gulliver's Travels.

Emma Watson (Mia In La La Land)

Playing Mia in 2016's La La Land earned Emma Stone her first Oscar win but the role of the aspiring actor had originally gone to another Emma: Emma Watson. The Harry Potter movies star said in a SiriusXM Town Hall interview (via Us Weekly) that her commitment to Beauty and the Beast and the hard work required to star in the musical led her to pull out.

Gwyneth Paltrow (Rollergirl In Boogie Nights)

Heather Graham made her mainstream breakthrough in 1998's Boogie Nights as "Rollergirl" – a role that was previously offered to Gwyneth Paltrow. The future Oscar winner told Howard Stern (via Us Weekly) that she passed because she feared the role, which required her to completely disrobe and simulate lewd acts on camera, would "kill" her conservative grandfather.

Jennifer Hudson (Precious In Precious)

Jennifer Hudson had previously said in her memoir, I Got This: How I Changed My Ways And Lost What Weighed Me Down, that she turned down the title role of Precious because she did not want to take a role that involved her weight. The Oscar winner later retracted that statement when speaking to The Huffington Post, explaining that Was not interested in what the role, which ultimately went to Gabourey Sibide, would have required her to do at that point in her career.

Matt Damon (Jake Sully In Avatar)

Sam Worthington became a household name when he led James Cameron's astonishingly successful sci-fi epic, Avatar, as Jake Sully – a role previously offered to Matt Damon. The Oscar winner once joked to Access Hollywood that not participating in the 2009 film cost the movie "a lot."

Ian McKellan (Albus Dumbledore In Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban)

The Lord of the Rings movies' Gandalf actor, Sir Ian McKellan, could have added another famous wizard to his resume and become the Harry Potter franchise's new Albus Dumbledore. Instead, the part went to Michael Gambon after, as he told BBC News, McKellan turned it down because he couldn’t “take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me,” referring to the late Richard Harris who was a vocal critic of the actor.

Drew Barrymore (Sidney Prescott In Scream)

Given Drew Barrymore's A-list status in 1996, audiences assumed that she was the lead of Wes Craven's Scream, which could have been the case, as she confirmed on Hot Ones. However, she requested to be killed off in the beginning as Casey Becker, knowing it would shock the audience, paving the way for Neve Campbell to become a Scream Queen in the role of Sidney Prescott.

Angela Bassett (Leticia Musgrove In Monster’s Ball)

Halle Berry became the first Black Best Actress Oscar winner for her performance in Monster's Ball as Leticia Musgrove – a role that was offered to Angela Bassett. According to EW, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star felt the part of a Black call girl was too stereotypical.

Sean Connery (Gandalf In The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring)

Sir Ian McKellan mentions in an oral history about the Lord of the Rings series for The Independent that an earlier choice to play Gandalf the Grey was Sir Sean Connery. New Line Cinema executive Mark Ordesky notes that the former James Bond actor passed on the role of the wizard simply because he "did not get it."

Bette Midler (Annie Wilkes In Misery)

Despite having no qualms about playing an actual evil witch in 1993's Hocus Pocus, Bette Midler did have some reservations about playing Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's Misery from 1990. The actor and singer told Variety that was interested in playing the sadistic nurse because of her violent, unfunny, and irredeemable qualities.

Warren Beatty (Bill In Kill Bill)

In 2003, Quentin Tarantino told BBC that he originally started writing the title role of Kill Bill with Warren Beatty in mind because he wanted to work with him and the Oscar winner was set to play the target of Uma Thurman's vengeful Bride for a bit. However, after realizing that David Carradine was a better fit, followed by consideration of the time commitment and martial arts training involved, the actor and filmmaker amicably agreed to part ways.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Clarice Starling In The Silence Of The Lambs)

Michelle Pfeiffer once told Today's Hoda Kotb (via People) that her reasons for passing on roles in the likes of Pretty Woman and Basic Instinct typically had to do with scheduling conflicts. However, she told The New Yorker she passed on playing Clarice Starling (which ultimately went to Jodie Foster) in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs because the “evil” in the film made her nervous.

Al Pacino (Han Solo In Star Wars)

In his memoir, Sonny Boy, Al Pacino reveals that, before Harrison Ford was cast in Star Wars, he was offered the role of Han Solo. The Oscar winner explains that he could not "make anything out of" George Lucas' script and chose not to play the pilot of the Millennium Falcon.

Bela Lugosi (The Creature In Frankenstein)

According to the book, The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig (via SlashFilm), the star of 1931's Dracula had the opportunity to play two Universal Monsters in the same year, having also been offered to play The Creature in Frankenstein. However, the actor believed such a role was "beneath him," paving the way for Boris Karloff to rise up in the ranks of horror royalty as Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creation.

Haley Lu Richardson (Dani Ardor In Midsommar)

Haley Lu Richardson, known for one of the best M. Night Shyamalan movies, Split, passed on the role of Dani Ardor in Ari Aster's 2019 sophomore effort, Midsommar. The A24 horror masterpiece was ultimately led by Florence Pugh, whom Richardson told Backstage she has nothing but praise for, despite not yet having the courage to watch the movie.

Julia Roberts (Annie Reed In Sleepless In Seattle)

The two most prestigious queens of the rom-com genre would have to be Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan but only one could play Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle. Roberts told InStyle (via ABC News) that she was offered the part but could not do it, adding that Ryan and Tom Hanks "are just such a jewel of a fit in that."

Jamie Lee Curtis (Regan MacNeil In The Exorcist)

Jamie Lee Curtis became horror royalty with her feature film debut in 1978's Halloween but her reign could have begun earlier if not for one thing: her mother, Janet Leigh. Curtis told EW that, when she was asked to audition for Regan MacNeil in 1973's The Exorcist (which would go to Linda Blair), the Psycho star spoke on the then-13-year-old's behalf and refused the offer.

Lee Marvin (Quint In Jaws)

Robert Shaw's performance as Quint in Jaws is nearly as famous as the man-eating shark itself but the English actor was actually not Steven Spielberg's first choice. The filmmaker told Vanity Fair that he previously approached Lee Marvin but the Dirty Dozen star was not interested.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Amber In Clueless)

Elisa Donovan's character in Clueless, Amber, very nearly went to the future star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Adam Schroeder, the co-producer of the 1995 high school movie classic, told Vanity Fair that the actor's commitment to the soap opera All My Children at the time forced her to recede from consideration.

While many of the leading actors in the Fast & Furious movies have become action stars in their own right, there have been a handful of performers who’ve joined the franchise over the years and were already well established in this genre, like Kurt Russell, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Stratham. With at least two more movies confirmed, and the potential for three if the main Fast Saga’s finale does indeed stretch into a trilogy, there will surely be more opportunities to loop in more of these veterans. As it turns out through, apparently Vin Diesel isn’t interested in recruiting one of the 1990s’ biggest action stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Van Damme, who first made waves on the martial arts front in the late ‘80s with Bloodsport, Cyborg and Kickboxer, alleged in an interview with The Telegraph that there was a time he was being eyed for a Fast & Furious role. However, Diesel, who plays Dominic Toretto and is one of the franchise’s main producers, allegedly shot down this pitch. As Van Damme stated:

Jean-Claude Van Damme didn’t share which Fast & Furious movie he was being courted for, nor did he provide any details about the character he would have played. Whatever was being planned, from what Van Damme has heard, Diesel was not interested in bringing him aboard. Assuming this is true, naturally one has to wonder why this is the case given Van Damme’s action bonafides.

After all, this is a man who established himself as a major player in this genre throughout the ‘90s with blockbusters like Universal Soldier, Hard Target, Timecop and Street Fighter, to name just a few. Granted, Van Damme doesn’t boast nearly as high a profile as he used to, with most of his work being direct-to-video/limited release fare. Still, he did participate in the first two Expendables movies as Jean Vilain, and appearing in a Fast & Furious movie, if not several, would be a solid way for him to impress moviegoers who aren’t familiar with his older work.

For now though, this is apparently not in the cards, though if that changes, we’ll let you know. Jean-Claude Van Damme was recently heard voicing Jean Clawed in 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Guru, and his next movie is Frenchy, which he stars in, directed, wrote and produced. As for the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast X’s ending laid plenty of groundwork for Fast & Furious 11, which was expected to come out 2025, but remains on hold due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Additionally, Dwayne Johnson will team with Jason Momoa on a spinoff movie that will serve as a bridge between Fast X and Fast & Furious 11.

If you missed seeing Fast X in theaters, stream it now with a Peacock subscription. Otherwise, look over the remaining 2023 movie releases and the 2024 movie releases to see what catches your eye.

They’re back and they’re better than ever! Minions: The Rise of Gru has arrived in theaters as part of the 2022 movie releases, telling the beginning of everyone’s favorite villain, Gru, and how he came to use the Minions - ya know, those little yellow monsters - as his personal henchman.

But, with any Despicable Me movie, and especially with Minions 2, whether that be a main entry or a spinoff such as Minions: The Rise of Gru, there is always a star-studded cast, and that is the case with this film as well. Here is where you might have seen - or heard - the cast of Minions: The Rise of Gru before. 

Steve Carell (Gru) 

I’m sure it’s no surprise that Steve Carell, the man, the myth, the legend himself, has returned to voice the impeccable Gru - this time, in younger form for Minions: The Rise of Gru. But of course, you’ve seen Steve Carell in plenty of other places before, in both movies and television. 

Carell is probably known the most for his iconic portrayal of Michael Scott in the critically acclaimed The Office, but the actor has done plenty more in television since then, including the leading role on the Netflix original comedy, Space Force, a main role in the great Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, a leading role in Angie Tribeca, and plenty of guest spots on many TV shows. 

However, Carell has also been plenty active in movies as well. You might have seen in comedies such as Evan Almighty, Date Night, Crazy, Stupid Love, or maybe even Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. He's also done so much in drama as well, with appearances in critically acclaimed films such as Foxcatcher, Little Miss Sunshine, Battle of the Sexes, Beautiful Boy, and more. 

Taraji P. Henson (Belle Bottom)

Another fantastic talent on this list is Taraji P. Henson, who voices Belle Bottom in Minions: The Rise of Gru. This amazing actress has been around for some time and appeared in many movies and TV shows, with one of her biggest being Empire, where she portrayed Cookie Lyon, and received critical acclaim. 

She also has had several guest roles on many television shows, and was a part of the Annie Live! cast, where she got to show off her singing skills. 

Henson has also had a great run in movies as well, appearing in huge hits such as Hidden Figures, Hustle & Flow, Proud Mary, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Best of Enemies and so many more. 

Michelle Yeoh (Master Chow)

Another iconic actress that is added to the cast list of Minions: The Rise of Gru is Michelle Yeoh, who voices Master Chow, a kung-fu master. Most recently in 2022, Michelle Yeoh has been making headlines for her incredible performance in Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, but Yeoh has been active in the film industry for decades. 

She's appeared in many movies, such as the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, Last Christmas, the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and so many others. 

Yeoh has also made her mark in television, with a role as Phillipa Georgiou in Star Trek: Discovery on Paramount+, as well as a role in the Netflix original series, Marco Polo. She’s also going to be in the upcoming The Witcher spinoff, The Witcher: Blood Origin. 

Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean Clawed)

Playing Jean Clawed in Minions: The Rise of Gru is none other than action star himself, Jean-Clause Van Damme. This Belgian actor has made his name in Hollywood and appeared in a variety of movies and TV, showing off his skills as not only a fighter but as an actor. 

Some of his highlights in the film industry include the crime drama JCVD, Sudden Death, Maximum Risk, Double Impact, Cyborg, The Expendables series, the Kung Fu Panda franchise, the Kickboxer series, The Last Mercenary, and many more. 

Damme has made his mark on television as well, although it’s usually through guest appearances or hosting his own shows, such as Jean Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors, Ramez Movie Star or other series. 

Lucy Lawless (Nunchuck)

You ever wonder what a nun with nunchucks would look like? That’s what Nunchuck, who is voiced by Lucy Lawless, answers in Minions: The Rise of Gru. This iconic actress made a name for herself back in the ‘90s in the series, Xena: Warrior Princess, and has only continued to grow as a star. 

Some of her biggest roles in the film industry have been Boogeyman, Justice League: The New Frontier, Bedtime Stories, and more. Lawless has lent more of her talents to television, with roles in several big-time shows after her time as Xena, including Battlestar Galactica, Sapartcaus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: Vengeance, Parks and Recreation, Ash vs. Evil Dead, My Life is Murder, and more. 

Dolph Lundgren (Svengeance)

Next up, we have Dolph Lundgren, who voices Svengeance in Minions: The Rise of Gru, and he came to fame primarily for portraying Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Since then, he has appeared in a variety of movies and television shows. 

He portrayed the iconic He-Man in Masters of the Universe, and had big roles in films such as The Punisher, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Castle Falls, Wanted Man, Silent Trigger, and more. He also had a big role in The Expendables series, reprised his role as Ivan in Creed II, and was a part of the Aquaman cast. 

Lundgren has also had some time in the spotlight in regards to television, appearing in a recurring role in the CW's Arrowverse, on the flagship show, Arrow, as well as a main role in the series SAF3. 

Danny Trejo (Stronghold)

Let me tell you - Danny Trejo has been everywhere in Hollywood and is a badass, and it’s no surprise that he’s voicing Stronghold in Minions: The Rise of Gru. This man has way more credits than other actors. Seriously, just look him up, he’s all over. But, for the sake of the length of this article, we’ll go over some of his best. 

In terms of film, Trejo has appeared in many great ones, including Desperado, Heat, the From Dusk ‘Till Dawn series, Machete, Grindhouse, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Reindeer Games, and so many others. 

Trejo has also had a prominent career in television, with some of his biggest roles being a recurring voice part on King of the Hill, a role on the popular FX drama, Sons of Anarchy, and a role in the TV series based on From Dusk ‘Till Dawn - along with many guest roles. 

Russell Brand (Young Dr. Nefario)

Russell Brand has been around for some time in the business and he’s a great choice for voicing young Dr. Nefario, Gru’s partner, in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Originally, Brand became well known for hosting Big Brother’s Big Mouth, but continued to lend his talents higher profile projects. 

He starred in movies such as Get Him To The Greek, Hop, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Rock of Ages, Trolls, Arthur, and most recently, was a part of the Death on the Nile cast in 2022. He’s also had some parts on television as well, with most having been guest appearances or for his own shows, such as Brand X with Russell Brand. However, he did have an acting role as Lance on the HBO series, Ballers. 

Julie Andrews (Gru’s Mother)

Julie Andrews is straight up the love of my life and that’s because I adore Julie Andrews and her movies so much, and I am so happy that she’s back for Minions: The Rise of Gru to continue voicing Gru’s mother. 

Andrews is an icon in Hollywood. While she hasn’t participated that much in television, aside from a few guest roles and her work as Lady Whistledown on the Netflix show, Bridgerton, she has been huge in movies for decades now, appearing in so many legendary films that I’m sure you’ve heard of. 

Some of her highlights include, but are not limited to, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Victor/Victoria, My Fair Lady, The Princess Diaries franchise, The Tamarind Seed, Torn Curtain, the Eloise at the Plaza series, and the Shrek series. 

Alan Arkin (Wild Knuckles)

Next up, we have Alan Arkin, who voices Wild Knuckles in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Alan Arkin has been active in Hollywood for a very long time, and has been nominated for many awards for his performances, so it’s no surprise that he’s adding  a voice-acting role to his already impressive resume.

Some of his biggest films have been The Russians Are Coming, Wait Until Dark, The In-Laws, Little Miss Sunshine (which he won an Academy Award for), Argo, Slums of Beverly Hills, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Million Dollar Arm, and more. 

He’s also appeared in a few projects on television, such as Escape from Sobibor, as well as The Kominsky Method. 

RZA  

Last but not least, we have RZA, an actor and a music artist, who is in Minions: The Rise of Gru. As an artist, who originally got his start as part of the Wu-Tang Clan, he has scored many films that you might recognize the music from, such as the Kill Bill duology, Blade: Trinity, The Man with the Iron Fists, and more. 

But, as an actor, he’s appeared in many movies and TV shows as well. Some of his biggest films were American Gangster, Nobody, The Dead Don’t Die, and Life in a Year, alongside many other roles. He’s also guest-starred on shows such as Outlaw, Gang Related, The Simpsons, and more. 

With so many big stars, it’s not surprising to see that the cast of Minions: The Rise of Gru have done so many incredible things. I for one can’t wait to see what they do next - that is, after having a run at those pesky little minions.  

After years of many major animated movies like Trolls World Tour and Turning Red going straight to streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, studios are finally bringing these family films back to theaters, most recently with Lightyear. Next weekend, the long-awaited Minions: The Rise of Gru is finally being released. So,should you plan to check out the flick starring a familiar bunch of overalled yellow bunches of fun? Let’s take a look at what the critics have to say. 

Minions: The Rise of Gru has had its share of delays over the years, with its original release date being summer 2020. But on the first weekend of July, the Illumination and Universal animated film is coming out. As the Minions: The Rise of Gru trailer teases, the movie will take audiences back in time to Gru’s childhood (in the 1970s) when he first meets the Minions. It serves as a prequel for the Despicable Me movies in several ways. 

On the review front, the response to the film is so far mixed. To get the most negative critique out of the way first, we’ll turn to The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw. The critic gave the movie two out of five stars and called Gru’s origin story “feeble.” Also, in his words: 

Bradshaw called the character of Gru “mildly funny,” but overall hopes the franchise is “laid to rest” after its fifth installment. Sorry to break it to you, but there’s already another Despicable Me film scheduled for 2024. Now let’s move to the more positive side of reviews for Rise of Gru. Slashfilm’s Rafael Motamayor for example called the new entry “pretty fun,” saying this: 

As Motamayor points out, the new Minions movie is especially entertaining when it comes to its use of its 1970s era, where a team of supervillains called the Vicious 6 come into the scene. The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin was also somewhat complementary about Rise of Gru in their review, with these words: 

Variety’s Peter Debruge found Rise of Gru to be predictable, but found its humor good enough to be entertaining. In Debruge’s mixed review, he said this: 

Empire’s Olly Richards caps our review roundup off with another middle ground critique, calling the movie “fun,” but also being aware of the shortcomings that perhaps hold the movie back from absolute greatness. In their words: 

There you have it. Perhaps that’s your best measure when it comes to deciding whether you’ll go to Minions: Rise of Gru when the upcoming 2022 movie hits theaters this July. Did you like the other Despicable Me and Minions movies? If you have and don’t mind some of the same old tricks, it sounds like this prequel is worth your time. However, if you’ve been hate watching your way through the others, Rise of Gru likely won’t be the one to knock your Minion goggles and overalls on. 

Minions: The Rise of Gru is coming to theaters on July 1. Check out what we know about the latest Minions movie in the meantime here on CinemaBlend. 

Some stories are so wild, you have to read through them twice to really believe them. Action legend Jean-Claude Van Damme would have to agree, as he’s become a part of a caper so wild, people will probably want to write movies about it. As it turns out, the “muscles from Brussels” was a little too popular in France this week, as people were so attuned to his presence on a random street that he accidentally distracted people from an audacious jewel heist.

What was supposed to be a visit to the optometrist for Mr. Van Damme turned into a bit of a crime story, as reported by TMZ. The chain of events went as follows: a “grey haired man in a suit” nabbed an estimated $2.4 to $3.5 million in jewels from the “high end jewelry store” Chaumet, and made his getaway on an electric scooter. The robbery was conducted at knifepoint, and thankfully no one was harmed, leaving our culprit to escape. As a cherry on top of this scenario, the thief was able to escape under the cover of celebrity eye care, as Jean-Claude Van Damme was leaving his appointment, just as this criminal was on the move.

Now I know what you’re thinking: could Jean-Claude Van Damme have been hired to distract from this gigantic act of thievery, a la The Thomas Crown Affair? Well, obviously there’s no good reason to expect that he was, so we can dismiss that thought pretty quickly. Though I wouldn’t blame you, as that movie did have some pretty creative lessons in how to pull off a perfect cat and mouse heist.

However, if you’re wondering about how this case came to an end, it’s a pretty happy conclusion. Two unnamed subjects were apprehended by authorities in connection to the crime, and it was all thanks to surveillance cameras stationed in the area. Also, a substantial portion of the jewels were recovered, which is good news for the folks at Chaumet. So it sounds a little less like a Thomas Crown Affair scenario, and more like a potential A Fish Called Wanda situation, depending on if there’s any of the remaining jewels stashed somewhere.

In reality, it’s a more cut and dry case that sees Jean-Claude Van Damme playing an inadvertent part in a robbery that’s been mostly foiled. Though, if you’re an aspiring screenwriter who wants to with Mr. JCVD, you could probably write a meta-humorous script where he turns into an amateur sleuth, trying to solve a robbery that happened while he was out grocery shopping. Who says crime doesn’t pay?

It still pays to be a fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme, as he can not only be seen in The Last Mercenary, but he’s also a voice in Universal’s long-awaited sequel, Minions: The Rise of Gru. Unfortunately, you’ll have a bit of a wait for that film, as it’s been moved to July 2022. However, that just means you have more time to research your upcoming movie outings through our 2021 release schedule.

Jean-Claude Van Damme remains one of the most iconic names in the action genre. So it was only a matter of time before he teamed up with one of the most iconic streaming platforms in the world. Now, the actor has a new action movie in the works for Netflix -- and it sounds like a bit of a departure from his usual projects.

The Last Mercenary is currently filming in France and will feature French dialogue as well. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a retired secret service agent who has to help his son clear his name after he is falsely accused of trafficking by the French government. They are up against some pretty formidable foes, including but not limited to the mafia. In other words, it’s doesn’t sound like a very easy task.

According to Variety, Jean-Claude Van Damme has expressed excitement over his participation in The Last Mercenary. He said he was drawn to the film because of its combination of emotion, action and humor. He also said he was looking forward to tackling the action-comedy genre and taking it on in his own unique way. Since he’s primarily known for less-comedic films like Timecop and Street Fighter, it will definitely be interesting to see him tackle the genre -- and of course, as always, it will be fun to see him kick some ass.

This isn’t the first project that Jean-Claude Van Damme has made for a streaming platform. He starred in Amazon Studio’s 2016 web series, Jean-Claude Van Johnson -- which, incidentally, also had some comedic elements. That was cancelled after one season, though apparently Jean-Claude Van Damme was okay with that. The Last Mercenary is the first Netflix film that he has signed onto, though -- and it will be interesting to see whether this leads to more collaborations between the popular streaming platform and the iconic action star.

The Last Mercenary is the latest in a string of high-profile action films for Netflix. After the success of Extraction and The Old Guard, it’s easy to understand why the platform would want to invest in the genre. Netflix also recently announced Trigger Warning, an action film starring Jessica Alba and directed by Mouly Surya.

David Charhon is directing The Last Mercenary, and he also co-wrote the film with Ismael Sy Savane. It will also star Alban Ivanov, Samir Decazza and Assa Sylla. Netflix hasn’t announced a release date for the film yet. Luckily, there are plenty of other action movies currently streaming on Netflix to tide you over until this one arrives.

Do you think The Last Mercenary sounds interesting? Are you excited to see Jean-Claude Van Damme in another comedic role? Let us know in the comments!

'80s action icons Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme didn’t square off in a movie until decades after their primes in 2012’s The Expendables 2. They almost crossed paths much earlier though, because before his breakout role in Bloodsport, Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast to play the titular alien hunter in Predator. There are seemingly countless stories about why the Muscles from Brussels left that role, but he has his own version of what happened, as he explained:

The Predator originally didn’t look like how we know it now. When Jean-Claude Van Damme was a part of the movie, it looked way less awesome and more like a lobster. From what JCVD told The Hollywood Reporter, it sounds like getting that costume molded for him was an extremely unpleasant experience. The actor felt like he was unable to breathe as the hot cast was poured all over his body.

It sounds torturous and claustrophobic, and Jean-Claude Van Damme admits that he didn’t think he was going to make it. Then, when the actor was wearing some sort of stilts and was asked to jump in them, he couldn’t do it or didn’t feel safe to. So he was unable to showcase the athleticism that he showed out of the costume. He couldn’t do what producer Joel Silver needed him to do for the role and he was replaced.

This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve heard about an actor leaving a role or hating their time in it due to nightmarish makeup or costumes. James Purefoy left V for Vendetta because of the mask. He was replaced by Hugo Weaving, who didn’t seem to love the makeup he wore as Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger. And Jennifer Lawrence’s feelings about the Mystique makeup are well known. So JCVD is not alone.

We can now add Jean-Claude Van Damme’s version of why he left Predator to the many existing accounts of what happened in what has essentially become a cinematic urban legend. Director John McTiernan said that they never shot anything with Jean-Claude and the whole situation was a mess because of his agent.

The visual effects supervisor on the film Joel Hynek’s account is one of the more outlandish and hilarious. According to him, Jean-Claude Van Damme wouldn’t stop kickboxing because he saw the alien hunter as having prodigious martial arts talents. When he was asked to stop, he refused. So producer Joel Silver fired him and JCVD fired off an insult and left.

Given Jean-Claude Van Damme’s seeming willingness to laugh at himself late in his career, someone really should put together a short or an internet video with the actor about this situation. It could have a Rashomon-like structure with each of the accounts of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s exit from Predator as a different chapter, with the audience left to decide where the truth lies.

Whatever happened, it all worked out for the best. Predator eventually changed the creature design for the better and became an action classic, and Jean-Claude Van Damme broke out in Bloodsport, where he was able to do all the kickboxing he wanted.

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s latest film, We Die Young, is now in select theaters and on demand. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of everything else you can look forward to seeing this year.

Though it can still arguably be said that the video game movie genre has never produced a legitimately great feature, 1994's Street Fighter remains a cultural touchstone that many fans love to (sometimes ironically) return to time and time again. The movie has widely become known for its campy, B-movie greatness, but it also turns out that star Jean-Claude Van Damme was allegedly frequently on cocaine during the shoot. In a recent profile on the film, Street Fighter writer and director Steven de Souza explained:

The production of Street Fighter was a notoriously troubled shoot, and Jean-Claude Van Damme apparently didn't make it any easier on the cast and crew. Arguably at the height of his power as an action star at the time of the film's production, the Belgian action hero was reportedly a frequent user of cocaine, which, according to Steven de Souza's remarks to The Guardian, made filming the movie incredibly tricky at times.

In the end, however, the film DID get made, and Jean-Claude Van Damme's Colonel Guile arguably remains one of the most memorable (and also utterly absurd) characters in the entire movie. Check out one of his best scenes, below!

Of course, in the years since Street Fighter debuted, Jean-Claude Van Damme has found ways to carve out a new reputation for himself as an actor and an action star. Though his heyday in the genre has arguably passed, he has since taken a far more self-aware approach to himself by embracing comedy and self-parody. These opportunities have seen him become a well-known commercial star, as well as the villain in The Expendables 2 and even the star of his own Amazon series called Jean-Claude Van Johnson, which was recently canceled by the streaming service.

The Street Fighter adaptation remains an odd moment in the video game movie genre's history, and we will continue to bring you more updates related to all of the films in this particular subgenre as new details are made available to us. Until then, you can head over to our movie premiere guide to learn more information on this year's biggest releases!

Many major action heroes have found ways to reinvent their images in recent years, and for Jean-Claude Van Damme, that involved embracing TV comedy with his new Amazon project, Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Fans are definitely going to want to see more of this show, but when we recently sat down with Van Damme to discuss his new series during a press event in Los Angeles, he admitted that he doesn't even want to think about Season 2 happening until he knows that the fans actually want it. The Belgian action star addressed his concerns:

In a world often defined by long-term plans for series and franchises, this seems like an old-fashioned approach. There's no question that Jean-Claude Van Damme feels incredibly proud of his work on Jean-Claude Van Johnson; that much was clear while speaking to him about his work on the bizarre new series. Having said that, Van Damme also knows the importance of fan enthusiasm for a project like this, and he wants there to be enough excitement to justify diving back into the creative well for more episodes of the freshman Amazon series. If you want it, he will do it. But maybe not otherwise.

All things considered, fan enthusiasm for Jean-Claude Van Johnson definitely does seem to be growing in many corners of the internet. Many have praised the new comedy for offering the Bloodsport icon a chance to skewer his own image, and we here at CinemaBlend have already picked up on several different reasons why it's worth a binge this weekend (if you're not going to be occupied with your consumption of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, that is). There's currently no word as to whether or not the show will actually receive a second season from Amazon, but positive early buzz means that it's not outside the realm of possibility.

For those of you who don't know, Jean-Claude Van Johnson is bonkers in the best possible way. It centers on the "real-life" Jean-Claude Van Damme, who (in the universe of the show) moonlights as an assassin while working on film sets overseas, taking on the guise of "Jean-Claude Van Johnson." The new series gets by on Van Damme's incredible amount of heart, as well as its surreal humor and his knack for the splits. Not to mention having The Cosby Show legend Phylicia Rashad as a co-star. So we will see if all these elements will possibly get expanded upon in a hypothetical second season.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson is now streaming on Amazon. Beyond the new series for the Muscles from Brussels, check out our fall premiere guide and our midseason premiere guide to keep yourself up-to-date on the most significant releases of the next few months. Elsewhere in the world of streaming content, you can also listen to the most recent episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast, as we hear at CinemaBlend never stop talking about all of your favorite television.

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Action icons don't get much more legendary or flexible than Jean-Claude Van Damme. The Muscles From Brussels has experienced a series of ups and downs over the course of his career, but now the 57-year-old badass seems to have found new life on the small screen with his brand new Amazon series, Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Portraying a version of himself in a heightened reality in which he moonlights as a secret assassin, Jean-Claude Van Damme has never been better, and we're here to tell you that this is one new show that you absolutely need to knock out in a free afternoon this weekend.

Still don't believe us? Then let us hit you with a roundhouse kick of common sense and explain why Jean-Claude Van Johnson needs to be at the top of your binge-watch to-do list.

It's The Comeback Jean-Claude Van Damme Deserves

Over the course of the last few years, we have seen several action icons from the 1980s and 1990s find ways to come back and reform their respective pop culture images. Sylvester Stallone did this by playing into his own action image and returning to some of his most beloved characters like John Rambo and Rocky Balboa. Arnold Schwarzenegger did it by taking his performances to a somewhat darker place than we had previously seen.

For Jean-Claude Van Damme, that career resurgence took place the moment the master of the splits decided to embrace self-deprecating comedy and poke some clean fun at himself. Jean-Claude Van Johnson is the natural apex of that idea, as the Belgian martial artist shows off some great comedic chops that many of his more casual fans likely never even knew had. Van Damme is back in Van Johnson, and he is better than ever.

It's Short, Sweet, And To The Point

One major issue that routinely plagues even the best streaming properties (see: Stranger Things, and many of the Marvel Netflix shows) is the fact that pacing can become a significant issue when long episodes draw out a long season. That's not an issue that occurs across the first season of Jean-Claude Van Johnson. The Amazon original's freshman season consists of six lean half-hour episodes, each of which tells its own story, and each of which ends with a teasing cliffhanger to keep audiences interested in the next entry.

There's something to be said about a series that opts to keep it tight. In that regard, Jean-Claude Van Johnson lives up to that idea by offering a minimalist 3-hour arc that can be knocked out in an afternoon. Jean-Claude Van Johnson doesn't overstay its welcome, and that's a perfect change of pace compared to other streaming series.

It's Chock Full Of Great Surrealist Humor

We do not say this lightly: there is nothing quite like Jean-Claude Van Johnson on television. The Amazon Original Series takes an insane amount of bold swings with its storytelling, and while some of them may not pay off in the grand scheme of the first season's narrative as much as we might like, it deserves quite a bit of credit for taking as many chances as it does. Jean-Claude Van Damme is unhinged in the best possible way in this series, and he shows no fear about poking fun at his career while also engaging in some pretty weird shenanigans.

Think about it: in what other TV series could you see an aging 1980s action icon moonlight as an assassin? This show is basically if the team behind Zoolander did LSD before writing the script.

It Has A Surprising Amount Of Heart

Sure, there are plenty of jokes and ridiculous set pieces spread throughout Jean-Claude Van Johnson's first season, but at its core, it's a show with a ton of heart. Jean-Claude Van Damme portrays a broken and beaten down version of himself, and the Belgian action hero no shows fear about diving into some emotionally dense material when the series calls for it.

When JCVD isn't kicking ass or cracking wise, he's taking quieter moments to reflect on himself, his career, and the happiness that has eluded him for years, and that's something that we seldom seen in a show of this tone. Remember, Jean-Claude Van Damme is playing himself (albeit a borderline insane version of himself) on the show, and as such, every joke comes with a certain amount of self-deprecating honesty that feels earned by years of real-life ups and downs in Van Damme's career and personal life.

Season 1 Is Just The Beginning

We have already addressed the fact that Jean-Claude Van Johnson deals in cliffhanger endings. However, it also needs to be said that the conclusion of the first season leaves the show in a radically different place than the pilot -- one that leads into a potentially fantastic storyline for Season 2 that no one will see coming. We're not going to dive too far into spoiler territory (you're better off letting your brain run wild with this), but we will say that there's a certain amount of confident insanity at play behind the scenes of Jean-Claude Van Johnson.

The folks working on the series very clearly have a vision for it that will allow them to move beyond its basic premise, and that's something worth exploring. In a world of shows that often play to the same narrative and thematic beats, it's worth having something as bold and crazy as this.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson drops on Friday, December 15 on Amazon. As for the other shows that are going to debut over the next few months, take a look at our fall TV premiere guide as well as our 2018 midseason premiere guide, and listen to the most recent episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear everything that we here at CinemaBlend have to say about the latest streaming content!

While action icons like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have recently gone a bit darker in their quests for more somber and pensive roles, Jean-Claude Van Damme has taken a different (and more comedic) route. That path will culminate in this month's release of Amazon's Jean-Claude Van Johnson, in which JCVD plays a bumbling assassin version of himself. I sat down with the folks behind Van Johnson during the show's recent press junket to ask them about the decision to bring Van Damme on-board, and they explained that the Belgian action star conveys the heart and humility that makes him ideal for the show. Series creator Dave Callaham explained:

Jean-Claude Van Damme has kicked plenty of ass over the years, but the transition into the latter portion of his career has been quite distinct when compared to the other types of actors who would appear in an Expendables movie. The master of the splits has a unique ability to lampoon himself in a way that's ideally-suited for Jean-Claude Van Johnson's particular brand of storytelling, thus making him a clear choice to headline the new Amazon series.

Director Peter Atencio similarly chimed in during our discussion and explained that the heroes Jean-Claude Van Damme typically played in his films like Hard Target and Timecop were a bit more sensitive and pacifistic than his action contemporaries. That allowed them to craft Jean-Claude Van Johnson into a meta-comedy series that could also maintain a sense of heart and compassion for its buffoonish main character. Addressing this balance, Atencio said:

When you put all of that together, you're left with a wholly unique action star who can do self-deprecating comedy and raw drama better than most. Couple that with the ability to deliver swift roundhouse kicks, and you seem to get a one-of-a-kind premise like Jean-Claude Van Johnson.

Jean-Claude Van Damme will don his hilarious and deadly alter ego when Jean-Claude Van Johnson hits Amazon Prime on December 15. Elsewhere in the small screen world, you can check out our fall premiere guide and our midseason premiere guide to get more information on the shows debuting over the next few months and listen to the most recent episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear what we have to say about the world of streaming content!

With all the TV shows that have come out in recent years, one might think there isn't much left to do as far as subject matter goes. But then along comes Amazon's Jean-Claude Van Johnson with its self-aware and slightly parodical look at what would happen if Jean-Claude Van Damme was actually an undercover operative during his film career, and our faith in original TV was born anew. Check out the new series' first trailer, which is a splendidly perfect blending of high-octane action and slapstick comedy.

There have been a ton of great comedies (and great action shows) on TV in 2017, but I'll be damned if Jean-Claude Van Johnson doesn't already look like it'll end up being one of my favorite shows of the year. It's the perfect trailer to get potential fans into the show, as it takes zero time in laying out the central plot and the overall tone. "Van Damme" is not only going to be making a new movie, but he's also getting back into the costume-utilizing personality that has a kill list that needs to be handled. How could this go wrong?

Plus, it's got Cosby Show vet Phylicia Rashad as his quasi-agent/handler, and while I never would have predicted such an onscreen pairing, it's pretty damned excellent. Throw in Kings of Summer standout Moises Arais as his supplier for all things weaponized and tech-ready, and we've got a solid TV trio that stands up with the best of them. "I don't...think that applies to vision...when driving," is one of the best line readings I'll hear this year.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson came to life at Amazon through the studio's pilot program (along with fellow release The Tick), and it was already clear why the concept would and should become a full-blown series. Watching an action movie hero like Van Damme poking fun at himself, while also offering up legitimate thrills and kills, is something that should have been around ages ago. And he's the perfect actor to do it, since it might not work so well with other genre heavies like Steven Seagall or Arnold Schwarzenegger. (I would love to see a Beverly Hills Cop-esque version of this with Eddie Murphy, though.)

I mean, who knew that Jean-Claude Van Damme would offer up comedic stylings that could feasibly compare with Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau?

Strangely enough, this isn't even the first time that Jean-Claude Van Damme will be starring in a project in which he plays a slightly heightened version of himself, with 2008's JCVD being the first to offer up a reality-massaging tale about the action star. But it was nothing like Jean-Claude Van Johnson is going to be, which can be said about most movies and TV shows.

So go ahead and dropkick your calendar with the date of Friday, December 15, as that's when Jean-Claude Van Johnson will be hitting Amazon Prime Video for all the high-stakes hilarity you can stand. To see everything else coming to TV in the near future, head to our fall premiere schedule.

The Predator was almost going to be very fond of doing splits. Originally a then-unknown, Jean-Claude Van Damme was hired to play the lethal alien hunter in 1987's Predator. However, Van Damme was fired early in production and was replaced by Kevin Peter Hall. Why exactly Van Damme was fired is something of a cinema urban legend, as no one can quite agree on what happened. Of the different stories for why Van Damme was let go, this one might be the best: Van Damme was fired as Predator because he refused to stop kickboxing. According to visual effects supervisor Joel Hynek:

It's the 30-year anniversary of Predator, and The Hollywood Reporter has assembled a massive oral history of the behind-the-scenes story of how the popular sci-fi thriller was made. If you're a Predator superfan, it's absolutely worth the read, as it details the many number of struggles the production went through. It also attempts to solve the mystery behind Jean-Claude Van Damme's firing, and the answer is that no one really knows why. Several different versions of the story exist, including this one from Joel Hynek.

The visual effects supervisor was with producer Joel Silver when it all went down, and according to him, Van Damme was let go because he kept trying to make the Predator do kickboxing. The Predator isn't really a mixed martial arts kind of alien, so Silver told Van Damme to knock it off. When Van Damme said no, Silver did what you do with any actor who won't cooperate and fired him. Kudos, though, to Van Damme for telling Silver to kiss his balls even though it was mostly his fault. That took...well, you know.

If one thing is clear about Van Damme's firing, it's that no one is clear about what happened. THR collected six different stories on what went down, three of which are first-person accounts. Everyone is in agreement that Van Damme didn't like the suit (a feeling shared by everyone else involved) and that he clashed with Joel Silver. The stories diverge from there and the reasons include: Van Damme was too short to play the Predator, he kept passing out due to the heat, Fox executives didn't like the suit and Van Damme was collateral damage, he complained too often about the filming conditions and he shattered the $20,000 head for the costume. All are really distinct, detailed reasons, so why no one is on the same page is a mystery in of itself.

An all-new Predator movie is on the way, with The Predator scheduled to hit theaters on August 3, 2018. To learn everything about director Shane Black's version, check out what we know so far.

There are a lot of "what if" casting scenarios that have littered the history of Hollywood. In the same alternate universe, Emma Watson won an Oscar for La La Land, Eric Stoltz was a very different Marty McFly in Back To The Future and Jean-Claude Van Damme was the titular alien in Predator. But while we knew that Van Damme eventually left the role, it wasn't until a recent interview with director John McTiernan that we learned how that moment came to be, and it was because of the actor's agent. As McTiernan explained:

It's probably for the best that Jean-Claude Van Damme wasn't in Predator, as it not only freed him up for better work in films like Bloodsport, but it also means that the costume from the original incarnation would have stayed in the film. Judging by the photos and videos involving the first draft of Predator's iconic villain, a demented-looking lobster isn't exactly the sort of stuff we'd mark down as legendary writing.

However, as pointed out in John McTiernan's MovieFone interview, that screw up with Van Damme's agent did rob us of a film that would have pit the "muscles from Brussels" against Arnold Schwarzenegger, right when both men were at their prime. Though we saw them in the same film in The Expendables 2, it really wasn't the same, as both had entered the twilight phase of their career. Even if the ridiculous costume was still in play, seeing Jean-Claude Van Damme busting out some blistering martial arts skills against beefcake Schwarzenegger could have been so good, and Predator 2 would have eventually been written as a rematch.

With thirty years of history in the Predator canon, and Shane Black's The Predator arriving in theaters next year to help move things into the modern stage once more, a lot of the history that eventually came to be would be overwritten by the Jean-Claude Van Damme version coming to light. As awesome as that potentially could have been, we're still very much happy that history shook out the way it did, giving us the film that's had no time to bleed over three decades of history.

The Predator hunts down its suburban prey in theaters on August 3, 2018. While we wait for more news on the next installment of the series, check out what movies are being released during the remainder of 2017.

Seventeen years ago, Bryan Singer's X-Men changed the way we looked at comic book adaptations, as it undid a lot of the damage that Batman & Robin had done to the still growing genre back in 1997. Part of that movie's success is, without a doubt, thanks to Hugh Jackman, who was then an up-and-coming actor that landed the role of a life time: Wolverine. Now, we can't picture anyone else playing the role, but in that pre-watershed era of history, there were others who were considered for the duty of popping claws and screaming out in berserker rage.

Some of the men that were sought after for the role were natural choices, while others are quite off the beaten path. All would have brought something unique to the role, and all 13 are going to be revealed throughout this list. So keep an open mind, and get ready to imagine several different futures past, as the following line-up could be considered Wolverines of alternate timelines.

Bob Hoskins

We'd previously reported that X-Men comic writer Chris Claremont had a specific choice for Wolverine, and his was a rather unconventional, but still badassed choice. He thought that esteemed actor /hard case Bob Hoskins could have been a great Wolvie for the silver screen. Since Claremont wrote the X-Men during the period of 1975 and 1991, we're going to assume that his vision of Hoskins as Wolverine was more inspired by The Long Good Friday and less Super Mario Bros. Which would have been totally sweet, considering his reputation stemming from that film.

Russell Crowe

Bryan Singer must really like Australian actors, as he reportedly selected Russell Crowe as his original choice to take the part of Wolverine for 2000's X-Men. At least, that's what the trivia on IMDb has to say, and it names a lot of actors that were in the running. Though this potential casting was also mentioned by Hollywood.com, Uproar Comics, and NotStarring.com. Now keep in mind, this was peak Crowe, coming off of the era of L.A. Confidential and The Insider, which saw him go onto play Maximus in Ridley Scott's Gladiator. Of course, seeing as both projects released months apart from each other in 2000, we're to assume Crowe dropped Marvel's pet project for the Oscar-winning juggernaut. But he did win an Oscar, make friends with Ridley, and suggest Hugh Jackman for the role instead of himself. So, while the prospect could have been awesome, it clearly wasn't the end of the world.

Glenn Danzig

X-Men didn't happen overnight, as it was being developed through a good portion of the late '90s at 20th Century Fox. So, with a lot of time, comes a lot of choices, and both NotStarring.com and Uproar Comics have mentioned that rocker Glenn Danzig was one of the big choices the studio had. Of course, this was before a director / producer had been decided on. But, the dealbreaker was naturally the clause in his contract that would have kept him on the set of X-Men for long enough that his touring days would have to be postponed. Which is a shame, because the dude totally could have made Wolverine his own, and might have launched his impressive physique into a slew of action franchises afterwards.

Aaron Eckhart

This is probably the first name on this list that'll raise some eyebrows, and stumbling upon his name both on IMDb and Hollywood.com's lists certainly threw us for a loop. It's not that Aaron Eckhart is a bad actor, or that he's a puny mortal. But if we had to choose a factor that didn't work in his favor, despite being a studio favorite, is that he was probably seen as too small for the role of Wolverine. But then again, the comparison of Eckhart to Hugh Jackman is probably what's throwing us off, because other than that factor, his quiet range and physicality should have been a good fit.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Now here's a pick that could have been pretty close to what Hugh Jackman brought to the role of Wolverine, and it's been recorded by Hollywood.com and IMDb. Jean-Claude Van Damme, the "Muscles from Brussels," could have matched the stature of Jackman's peak physique, if not exceeded them. However, if Van Damme was cast for X-Men as 20th Century Fox had wanted, we might have seen a faster moving Wolverine, rather than the brawler that Jackman's incarnation embodied. Also, his accent would have probably had everyone wishing he'd been cast as Gambit anyway, and that would have been amazingly distracting.

Viggo Mortensen

When it came to casting Wolverine, Fox had a bit of a wandering eye. And yet, that eye did settle on the man who would be king of Middle-Earth, Viggo Mortensen, just as he was rising in profile and stature. His running for the role has been reported on all four of the lists we've sourced. While he could have made an interesting choice, we have a feeling that he might have been a bit too "quiet" for the studio's tastes, as he really didn't have a lot of action under his belt. Though that certainly didn't stop him from getting cast in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so again, the universe worked things out for the best.

Edward Norton

Time for another oddball choice, folks! Also sitting on the 20th Century Fox shortlist was none other than Edward Norton, with Hollywood.com and IMDb listing him in the running, and even NotStarring.com putting him down for both Wolvie and Cyclops. Primal Fear and American History X did a lot of great things for the man's career, and his up-and-comer status probably put him on the list due to his severely fantastic acting chops. But alas, Norton turned down the opportunity to audition, and probably for the same reason we're thinking: there's no way in hell anyone would have bought Edward Norton as Wolverine. You can only imagine someone so jacked before it becomes ridiculous, and Norton probably saw that before anyone else did (even if he would go on to play the Hulk later... sort of).

Thomas Jane

While Hugh Jackman IS The Wolverine, hearing that Thomas Jane was being considered, at least according to Hollywood.com, to play Logan in Bryan Singer's X-Men is something that just sounds like it could have been magic. With both Deep Blue Sea and Boogie Nights under his belt, the man showed to the world he could rock action moves as easily as he could grow hair. Sadly, unspecified "contract issues" prevented Jane from even trying out for the role, which might have been for the better, because he was one hell of a Punisher.

Keanu Reeves

The oddball parade continues, as IMDb and NotStarring.com have both shown that 20th Century Fox was keen on signing Keanu Reeves to play Wolverine during their massive scrum to put X-Men into production. Again, the same possible problems with Jean-Claude Van Damme would have reared their head with Reeves, as his work on The Matrix probably wowed the executives, but would have inspired a more fast paced "wire fu" approach to Logan's fighting style. Plus, shades of Edward Norton would have shown themselves, as Reeves could only get so jacked before you realized it just wasn't a good fit.

Johnny Depp

When you see Johnny Depp on a casting list, it's going to be a polarized experience. There's no in-between, as Depp's casting in projects tends to be either spot on brilliant, or just plain loony. In the case of X-Men's Wolverine, you can cue up the circus music, as it would have been absolutely absurd to have cast Johnny Depp as the Canadian mutant. Perhaps the strangest thing about Depp's supposed casting is that NotStarring.com's list seems to be the only one that mentions his candidacy. Though when you think about it, he could have made an interesting pre-Alan Cumming Nightcrawler. So maybe that's how that train got started to begin with.

Gary Sinise

If there was anyone harder to evaluate than Gary Sinise for the role of Wolverine, we're having a hard time finding them. It shows in the fact that Hollywood.com, IMDb and Uproar Comics all have him named on their lists of Wolverines that could have been, and it's not a terrible fit. On one hand, he would have been a little over a decade older than Hugh Jackman when he first stepped into the role, which wouldn't have lent itself to the longevity that Jackman has had with the role. But on the other hand, we can imagine what Sinise would have looked and sounded like in full, primal rage mode, and it will remain one of history's greatest "what if's."

Mel Gibson

Now we enter what could be considered the "Hall of Fame" of Wolverine choices. As the casting search wound down, Mel Gibson's name came up in Fox's search for burly fighting men that could don Adamantium claws and wreck shop. And in the case of Gibson, he was featured in a round of concept art that the producers got their hands on, and MovieWeb made public knowledge. But, for one reason or another, Mel's Wolverine was never meant to be. Though considering he also turned down playing Thor's dad, yet somehow has entertained talks to direct Suicide Squad 2, we think that he might be more of a D.C. Comics guy.

Dougray Scott

Ok, so picture this: you're hand-picked by Tom Cruise to be the villain in Mission: Impossible 2 AND Bryan Singer wants you for his X-Men movie. Pretty sweet line-up, isn't it? At least, it would be, until you're forced to choose between the two posts, which is exactly what happened to Dougray Scott. While Scott was cast as The Wolverine, his time on the Mission: Impossible 2 set was prolonged due to a production overrun. Which lead to Scott unfortunately having to drop the role, allowing some newcomer to pick up the mantle after him. Something tells us he was kicking himself for his decision once X-Men opened to massive acclaim.

The 1980s and 1990s were glorious times for action movies, and two of the most famous action stars during those decades were Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. On occasion, these two have worked together, like in 1992's Universal Soldier (seen above) and two decades later in The Expendables 2. Five years after that latter movie, it's been announced that they'll be joining forces yet again for an action-thriller called Black Water.

Produced by Dawn's Light Media and written by Chad Law, Black Water will follow a deep cover operative, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme who wakes up to find himself trapped in a CIA black site on board a submarine. It wasn't revealed who Dolph Lundgren will play. However, rather than play enemies yet again, THR states that Black Water will be the first time Van Damme and Lundgren will play characters allied with one another. No director has been tapped yet, but it will be produced by Richard Switzer and Tyler Konney, while Alexander Ferguson and Jason Cherubini will executive produce.

Even though Black Water details are light at the moment, this movie sounds like it will be a treat for any Jean-Claude Van Damme or Dolph Lundgren fan. After seeing multiple movies of them clashing (namely the Universal Soldier movies), it will be a welcome change of pace to see them kicking bad guy ass together. Despite being in their mid-late 50s, both Van Damme and Lundgren have been keeping their feet planted firmly in the action realm, so jumping back in for Black Water, with fists and bullets flying, will be comfortable territory. Although these two will be the main stars, it would also be cool if a third 80s/90s action star could cameo in Black Water, but Van Damme and Lundgren are enough for now.

In recent years, Jean-Claude Van Damme's big screen performances have included Master Croc in the latter two Kung Fu Panda movies and Master Durand in Kickboxer: Vengeance, while most of his work nowadays is comprised of limited release and straight-to-video projects. He also starred in the Jean-Claude Van Johnson pilot on Amazon, which was ordered to series this past September. As for Dolph Lundgren, his recent notable credits include playing Gunner Jensen in all the Expendables movies, FBI agent Zack Reed in Kindergarten Cop 2 and a submarine commander in Hail, Caesar!. He is currently appearing as flashback villain Konstantin Kovar on the Arrow TV series.

We'll keep you apprised on how Black Water is progressing as more details come in, but let us know what you think of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren's newest partnership in the comments below.

How weird is it that 2016 is a year in which Jean-Claude Van Damme will be in a Kickboxer sequel and a TV pilot that might very well become a full-blown series? About as weird as anything else Van Damme has done, I suppose. In any case, that TV project is a comedy called Jean-Claude Van Johnson, and the first trailer for it dropped today. Watch in wonderment at one of the most athletic actors of our day selecting some Pop Tarts.

I pretty much love everything about this, even if it only hints at the tone of the show rather than the plot specifics. But that's fine, because the concept is pretty solid. In Jean-Claude Van Johnson, the martial arts star plays a modified version of himself who is not only a globally known action star, but also a contract killer for hire. "Johnson" is his call name, or was, before he retired. You know how it goes, though. He has to go back into the fold one more time after meeting up with a lost love, and it's up in the air if he's still as deadly as he once was.

The trailer above, I assume, is showing us what life is like for Van Someone after he decided to become "just an actor." He watches himself getting older in the mirror while his pristine past is captured in eternal form behind him. He uses his own branded bathroom products. He celebrates the lives of his dogs. He gets the paper...in the laziest way possible. (I laughed quite loud when the grabbing tool dropped down.)

But of course, the crown jewel of this promo is discovering just how much Van Damme loves him some Pop Tarts. Not only does he keep his cabinets filled to capacity - another great mini-moment is when he initially chooses one box and picks the identical one next to it instead - but he also watches it as it warms, acting bored, but you know he could just stand up and look at something else if he really wanted to.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson is currently available for everyone, not just Amazon Prime subscribers, to watch on Amazon, along with the pilot for the new version of The Tick. Don't forget to vote for them if you like them, to try and ensure they get full series orders at some point soon.

Sometimes being a celebrity is hard. Especially if you've been well-known for a few decades. There are certain things people will always want to know about, no matter how many times you've answered those questions, and Jean-Claude Van Damme wants everyone to know that he's tired of that shit. Take a look.

Uh, OK Jean-Claude. I think we get it. Van Damme was doing satellite interviews for Australian TV this week when he got tired of the questions the interviewer was asking him and, eventually, stormed out of the interview. After a little lesson for the folks at home about how the people on the other side of the camera (producers and camera operators, I guess) were talking about how he was sweating during the interview, he gets visibly annoyed at a question about actress and singer Kylie Minogue, whom he dated and starred with in the 1994 movie Street Fighter. After saying that he likes her, he announces, "Sorry guys, I cannot do this," and begins to take off his microphone and give us all the specifics on why the line of questioning he was undergoing didn't sit well with him.

Van Damme soon instructs those same people behind the camera that he referenced earlier to let him talk, which makes a lot of sense. You don't have a live interview start to go haywire as a producer, interviewer or camera person and not start a lot of behind-the-scenes chatter. A lot of which will probably include trying to calm the subject down so they don't become even more agitated or leave you hanging when they decide to just walk off camera. He tells the audience that "the press, they've been asking me the same questions for 25 years," and those questions mostly seem to revolve around how he trains and his relationship with Kylie Minogue. Man, I can already see why he's irritated. Can you imagine being asked questions about an old flame for over 20 years of your life? After about five years most people would just start punching people who broached the topic right in the throat.

He notes several times that he wants to come to Australia and talk about things, and that he now has a different view of life since he's 55 years old. And then (I love this), he says, for all to hear, "Those interviews you are giving me on TV right now? They're very boring...You have something interesting to ask me?" Boom! Slamming your interviewers live on TV is a pretty badass move, and one that likely will make any TV professional's heart stop for far too many seconds. Now we're getting to the meaty part, y'all. Van Damme don't give a shit how this looks.

It isn't long after when Jean-Claude Van Damme lets everyone know he has to use the bathroom and gets up from his seat to finally rip off his mike and get outta Dodge. In what is probably my favorite moment of this failed interview he says, "What the fuck is going on in Australia. I cannot do this. I'm too natural." What? What the hell does "I'm too natural" even mean? And I don't want to hear any crap about English being his second language, we all know he's been speaking it for at least the same 25 years he's been getting questions about how he became the Muscles from Brussels. He knows that phrase makes no damn sense.

Well, let this be a lesson to us all. If you ever encounter Jean-Claude Van Damme do not ask about how he works out or Kylie Minogue. He just might get angry enough to kick you in the heart, and I'm sure you don't want your day to end like that.

Coming off his success in Guardians of the Galaxy, former WWE star Dave Bautista is a potential action hero in the making. Perhaps that's why he's looking to a previous action hero for success. He'll soon be starring in a remake of Kickboxer, and his newest project also sounds like an old Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. The new film Final Score is basically Sudden Death, with the sport swapped out.

There was a time in the early 1990's when Jean-Claude Van Damme was the king of the action genre. As we now sit about 20 years after the fact, it's fitting that his old movies are now being considered for the remake/reboot treatment. When Dave Bautista was cast as Tong Po in Kickboxer Vengeance, the reboot to Van Damme's classic, it seemed like perfect casting. Bautista is a larger than life beast, they called him "the animal" in WWE for a reason. However, following on that decision, the description of Bautista's movie, Final Score had us scratching our head. According to Variety, the new film, which will co-star Pierce Brosnan, is about a group of criminals who seize a sports stadium during a soccer match and demand ransom. Only an ex-soldier in the crowd will have the skills necessary to save everybody.

If that synopsis sounds familiar, it's because it's essentially identical to Jean-Claude Van-Damme's 1995 movie Sudden Death. In that film, Van Damme is an ex-firefighter, not a soldier. The one where he was an ex-soldier was Lionheart, it gets confusing. Also, the sporting event was a hockey game, specifically, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, not a soccer match. No, it wasn't a basketball game. You're thinking of Double Team when Van Damme co-starred with Dennis Rodman. Yeah, it gets confusing.

Just because Final Score sounds derivative doesn't mean it won't be a good movie. Sudden Death itself falls into the "Die Hard in a X" formula that nearly every action movie tried to be back then, and still does to some extent. Although, Sudden Impact does get points for being the only one where the hero beats up a girl in a mascot costume. Final Score probably won't have that.

Do soccer teams have people who dress up in giant mascot costumes? We certainly need to get Dave Bautista beating up a guy dressed like a giant animal.

Dave Bautista will next be seen in Kickboxer Vengeance. Next year he'll also be reprising his role as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Have you ever wanted to see a version of Karate Kid but with underground death fights and Jean-Claude Van Damme as Mr. Miyagi? Well, then today is your lucky day because we've got the new trailer for Kickboxer: Vengeance, the remake/reboot (who can tell these days) of the 1989 action movie Kickboxer. Jean-Claude Van Damme starred in the original and he returns this time as a mentor to the new main character. Check out the trailer below to see lots of angsty fighting and vengeance.

This trailer comes from Yahoo! Movies, who have the lowdown on the film. A pretty typical trailer for all intents and purposes, it did look like it had some cool fight choreography. It also stars real life professional fighters, so the fights will probably be pretty epic. Plus Dave Bautista destroying dudes while wearing that crazy ponytail is not easily forgotten. The whole thing looks a little cheesy but sometimes a little cheese can be good for a movie. It's nice to see Jean-Claude Van Damme back in an action movie, even if it's in a pass the torch capacity. Sylvester Stallone found a lot of success for doing the same thing in Creed, so who's to say that Van Damme won't too (though Creed is a better made film than from what this trailer is selling).

Instead changing the source material, the new version mostly follows the story of the original. Mixed martial artist Kurt Sloane (Alain Moussi) seeks revenge against Muay Thai champion Tong Po (played by Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista) after he murders Kurt's brother in a fight. Kurt then finds his brother's Muay Thai teacher Durand (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and begins to learn the ways of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother and defeat Tong Po. From what was shown in the trailer, there isn't too much of a difference between this and the original, though Kurt's brother was paralyzed from the waist down rather than killed in the 1989 Kickboxer.

For comparison, here is the trailer for the original film which is, again, very similar to the new one. Be warned that there isn't a lot of energy behind this edit so it's kinda slow. Also, take note that the Tong Po in this one has the same hairstyle as Bautista with what most be the most timeless ponytail ever.

Kickboxer: Vengeance is directed by John Stockwell and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, Sara Malakul Lane, and Alain Moussi.

Hollywood executive are a forward-thinking bunch. Production on the Kickboxer remake hasn’t even begun yet but Headmon Entertainment and Acme Rocket Fuel, the companies behind the shoot, have now revealed that funding is in place for the sequel. In fact, they’ve already ear-marked a title for the follow-up too, revealing that it will be called Kickboxer 2: Retaliation.

Clearly, Acme Rocket Fuel – which I still can’t decide is either the best or worst name for a burgeoning studio that I’ve ever heard – want the Kickboxer franchise to be the lynchpin of their slate. Both Kickboxer Vengeance and Kickboxer 2: Retaliation will be the first two projects for them. However, most of the money to finance Kickboxer 2: Retaliation is coming from Headmon Entertainment.

There’s a nice buzz growing about Kickboxer Vengeance. The original 1989 Kickboxer film is probably the dictionary definition of a cult classic, while it’s also the definitive Jean Claude Van Damme film. And while it’s undoubtedly dumb, painstakingly cheesy, and offensively stereotypical, it’s still a great watch.

Kickboxer sees Jeane-Claude Van Damme star as Kurt Sloane, who looks to avenge the death of his brother, Eric, played by Dennis Alexio. Eric is left paralyzed by an unrelenting fighter, which provokes Kurt to vow vengeance. Cue Van Damme training hard, making mistakes, but learning from it all to get his rewards. I’m tearing up just thinking about it.

But while your first thought will probably be that this remake is going to be utterly lame, there’s actually hope that Kickboxer Vengeance could be worthwhile. Alain Moussi, a stuntman who has previously worked on the likes of X-Men: Days Of Future Past and also starred in White House Down, is going to take the role of Kurt Sloane.

But most importantly, Jean Claude Van Damme has signed up to play the role of Sloan’s mentor, Master Durand. Surely the nostalgia value alone is going to entice enough people to watch the film so that it can make its money back. Well, for the first one anyway. They’re clearly jumping before they can walk with their plans for the follow-up.

Meanwhile, there’s also an impressive array of guest-stars for its ensemble too, with Spectre and Guardians Of The Galaxy’s Dave Bautista, Haywire’s Gina Carano, and UFC champion George St. Pierre on-board to join in the fun too. Excited? Well you only have a few short months to wait until its release as Kickboxer Vengeance will be with us at some point in 2016.

The upcoming Kickboxer remake already has a cast completely stacked with professional ass-kickers, but one could argue that the movie would have been incomplete without the presence of Jean-Claude Van Damme, the star of the original. The good news is that the project has just fixed that shortcoming.

With production having just begun this week, the Kickboxer remake has announced that Jean-Claude Van Damme has officially signed on for a role - though it comes at a cost. In the movie, the famed Belgian martial artist will be taking on the role of Master Chow, replacing Tony Jaa, who signed on for the film back in August. Van Damme will be joining a cast that is strangely filled with actors who have been all over the comic book movie landscape in 2014, with Dave Bautista (Drax The Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy), Georges St. Pierre (Georges Batroc in Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Alain Moussi (Josh Helman's stunt double in X-Men: Days of Future Past) all set to star in key roles.

Set to be directed by John Stockwell (Turistas, Blue Crush) and Stephen Fung, Kickboxer will star Alain Moussi as Kurt Sloan, a talented fighter who moves to Thailand on a mission of revenge. Looking for retribution following the death of his brother at the hands of a fighter named Tong Po (Dave Bautista), Sloan is taken under the wing of Master Chow (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and learns the ways of kickboxing. While it's unclear exactly why Tony Jaa dropped out of the project - perhaps to make room for JCVD? - Ted Fields of Radar Films expressed his excitement about the recent casting in an official statement, saying,

It's interesting that this actually isn't the only project in development featuring an 80s action lead who is moving from the starring role to the mentor part. Sylvester Stallone recently revealed that he will soon be getting to work on the set of Creed, a spin-off that will see Stallone reprising his Rocky Balboa role in order to help teach the son of Apollo Creed (Michael B. Jordan) in the ways of boxing. That movie is gearing up to start filming next month, so it wouldn't be too surprising if it and Kickboxer wound up being released in similar time frames.

Kickboxer is shooting now and will be filming in both New Orleans, Louisiana as well as on-location in Thailand. No release date has been announced as of yet.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has forged an enviable path from professional wrestling to Hollywood mega-stardom. And now three other pro fighters are following in his footsteps, and those of Jean-Claude Van Damme by headlining a remake of the cult classic Kickboxer.

THR reports out of the Cannes Film Market that WWE star Dave Bautista, who co-stars in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, has joined the Kickboxer remake along with UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who had a scene-stealing fight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While both these professional fighters are sure to pull in MMA and wrestling fans, neither is shouldering the lead for this high-impact actioner. That responsibility will fall on Alain Moussi, a Gabon-born martial artist and stuntman who appeared in movies like Pacific Rim, White House Down, and Brick Mansions.

Its unclear at present what roles Dave Bautista and Georges St. Pierre will play in Kickboxer, but we're assuming brawny adversaries to Alain Moussi, who will play Kurt Sloan, a role originated by Jean-Claude Van Damme in 1989. Can he possibly step into Van Damme high-kicking shoes? As evidence in Moussi's favor I offer this promotional still from his IMDB page.

Below is the official synopsis for Kickboxer:

Moussi is better known for his athleticism than his acting chops, but Kickboxer producer Ted Field (Pitch Black, The Last Samurai) is confident Moussi will be kill it. He states:

You heard it here. If Kickboxer hits, you can expect Kickboxer 2, 3 etc.

For now, Kickboxer's producers are lining up foreign distribution on the basis of the intimidating leads. But this is actually the third Van Damme movie to recently announce a reboot. Last spring reports emerged that Time Cop was getting revamped. And shortly thereafter V is for Vendetta helmer James McTeigue revealed his plans to remake Bloodsport.

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More than a decade ago, director John Hyams made a documentary about Mixed Martial Arts star Mark Kerr entitled The Smashing Machine. It was purchased by HBO and got wonderful reviews. A few years later, the material was re-written as a biopic, and Jean-Claude Van Damme was hired to play the lead. Then, just days before filming was to begin, the production was abruptly cancelled. At the time, the actor claimed he nixed the project because of creative differences, but if the dude who played Crixus on Spartacus is to be believed, that’s not what happened at all.

Back in 2007, Manu Bennett was a completely unknown actor taking auditions in an attempt to catch a big break. He met with producers of The Smashing Machine, and they hired him to play a lead character who battled steroid problems. Not wanting to let anyone down, he decide to jump in as aggressively and recklessly as possible. Bennett started working out twice a day with a former Mr. Australia and he began experimenting with the same banned substances his character did. In three months, he gained 44 pounds and arrived on set looking like a Greek God, much to the delight of producers and allegedly, much to the fury of Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Speaking to Men’s Journal, Manu Bennett claims Van Damme took one look at the pre-production photographs he’d taken and suddenly decided the movie was no longer a good idea. So, The Smashing Machine was cancelled.

A seasoned actor could have simply vaulted to a different project. Since that was Bennett’s big break, or at least supposed to be his big break, and he spent all of his money training, however, he had to take a job as a day laborer and deal with the after-effects of having experimented with all of the substances he took for the role. Calling the experience "horrible", he toiled away on a building site for eight months before he got a shocking phone call from the producers of Spartacus. They’d somehow come across the same picture that allegedly scared off Jean-Claude Van Damme, and they thought he would be perfect for the role of Crixus.

Through good old fashioned hard work and not shady supplements, Bennett was eventually able to gain back much of the weight he put on during that hectic three month preparation for The Smashing Machine, but to this day, he’s never been as jacked as he was on the day he took that picture. His anger toward Van Damme, however, has never subsided. It probably won’t ever either, but luckily, he’s still been able to move on in some particularly exciting ways.

Arriving in Hollywood from his home country of Belgium back in the mid-80s, Jean-Claude Van Damme was able to establish himself as one of the biggest names in the action genre... and generated some interesting stories on his way to fame. One of the more popular stories about the actor is that he was actually originally hired to play the titular monster in John McTiernan's 1987 movie Predator - a role he was eventually let go from. Now that story has come to life on video, as the Stan Winston School (via Yahoo!) has released a clip from an interview with Makeup FX artist Steve Johnson that features clips and tons of inside information about Van Damme's notorious time on the set of the 80s action classic.

Watching the video you'll learn about not only how extremely unhappy Van Damme was with the role and the production, but also see what the original design for Predator was. It's true that the monster is actually invisible for most of the film, but I honestly think that Predator would not be as popular as it is today if its eponymous villain looked like this:

They definitely made the right choice designing the costume after Van Damme left the production:

When you really think about it, at the end of the day both sides of this situation won. Predator didn't feature a young Jean-Claude Van Damme, but it still remains one of the best sci-fi movies of the 80s. Van Damme, meanwhile, was able to take his particular set of skills to projects that actually needed them, and as a result we got movies like Bloodsport:

It's just like Hollywood to give the story a happy ending.

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s admission of having shown Kylie Minogue “his Thailand” while the two shot Street Fighter may have given most of us a good laugh, but not surprisingly, the reveal wasn’t quite as funny for the woman who was pregnant with his child at the time the affair happened. Darcy LaPier, who was married to the actor from ’94 to ’97, went on the offensive today, questioning why her ex would even bother sharing such news almost two decades later when it was bound to hurt both her and the seventeen-year-old child she shares with the action star.

In the initial interview that ran earlier this week, Van Damme called the lovemaking he and Minogue shared “beautiful”. Obviously, LaPier disagrees with his assessment. Here’s what she told Fox News…

In case if you’re wondering what that “water under the bridge” is referring to, LaPier dropped some other bombs too. According to her, Van Damme hasn’t paid child support in seven years, apparently because he no longer lives in the United States. He also supposedly cheated on her more times than just this one, but she still talks to him once a week or so, assumedly as it relates to their son.

Being cheated on is never the easiest pill to swallow, even if happened almost two decades earlier, but hopefully, all involved will be able to move on quickly from this for the sake of their son.

Jean-Claude Van Damme had an affair with Kylie Minogue while the two filmed Street Fighter back in 1994. The action star made the admission while doing promotional work for the upcoming Expendables 2, and while he was at first apprehensive to talk on the subject, he wound up giving far more details than one would have expected.

Speaking to The Guardian, JCVD told the outlet his memory was too poor to get into specifics, and then, of course, he got into plenty of specifics.

It’s unclear whether Minogue would remember this supposed hook-up with such words as “sweet” and “beautiful”, but even if she does, I highly doubt she would ever tell anyone he showed her his Thailand. That’s all sorts of creepy and hilarious, not necessarily in that order.

JCVD is hoping Expendables 2 will land him some bigger roles in the near future. If early buzz is any indication, the film may. For his wife’s sake, however, I hope filming on any of those future movies doesn’t in any way resemble Street Fighter.

Adam Brody will soon be stepping up from character actor and kooky sidekick to leading man as The O.C co-star has just landed the lead in not one but two upcoming features. It's a hard-won evolution for Brody, who has previously performed supporting roles in everything from moody dramas (The Romantics) to stoner comedies (Smiley Face), and slasher-horror (Scream 4). But now, Variety reports that Brody, who has just completed work on Lorene Scafaria's directorial debut Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, has just signed on to front the film adaptation of Neil LaBute's play Some Girls and will also star in the office-comedy Welcome to the Jungle. Both roles will not only give Brody a chance to display his comedic chops but also test his abilities to carry a film.

Welcome to the Jungle centers on a design firm staff who become stranded while on an office retreat to a tropical island. In short order, these co-workers lose their cool and thing take a turn from bad to "Lord of the Flies-styled" worse. Playing an unlikely hero who must face down a tyrannical would-be leader of office mates, Brody will head the cast that includes such comedy luminaries as Rob Huebel and Kristen Schaal, 24's Dennis Haysbert, as well as over-the-hill action star Jean-Claude Van Damme. Personally, I'm pulling for Van Damme playing Brody's adversary, as that lopsided showdown should prove comedy gold.

In Some Girls Brody will play the kind of scandalizing scoundrel common to the works of Neil LaBute, in this instance a writer who is on the verge of getting married and so naturally decides to reconnect with each his ex-girlfriends - one at a time in various hotel rooms across the United States. The show ran in New York City in 2006, and starred Will & Grace's Eric McCormack, so we can safely assume the cast of characters will be a bit younger in the movie version. This likely means the Off-Broadway cast that included Fran Drescher, Judy Reyes, Brooke Smith, and Maura Tierney, will not be invited to reprise their roles. Mad Men helmer Jennifer Getzinger will direct the dark comedy which is set to shoot in Los Angeles this April.

However, before either of these features makes it to theaters, Brody will have several more supporting parts hitting the big screen, including the demanding role of real-life porn star Harry Reems in the Linda Lovelace biopic Lovelace. Reems was Lovelace's Deep Throat co-star as well as the center of a major censorship scandal that ultimately got him arrested. In short, it's a role that could prove meaty for the emerging leading man.

Lovelace is currently in production.

When it comes to action movie sequels, traditionally, bigger really is better. So how does an action movie like The Expendables top itself for the sequel, when the original film was already packed with an all-star cast? Bring in more all-stars, that’s how!?

The original Expendables cast is a virtual dream-team of action stars. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Dolph Lundgren were all featured, along with appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. In a recent conversation with Sly Stallone, Entertainment Weekly got the scoop on the sequel, which is set to begin shooting in Bulgaria later this month, and aims for an August 2012 release. According to Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme is on board to appear in the film, and fans should expect a “big showdown” between Stallone and Van Damme. Fans should also expect bigger parts for Schwarzenegger and Willis in the new movie.

Also on board for The Expendables 2 is the legendary Chuck Norris. The mentioned but unconfirmed names for possible roles in the sequel were Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, but neither of them sound like sure things at this point. Hopefully, if they do appear in the film, they face off against one another at some point.

While the film is shaping up to be full of names and faces many of us grew up watching do roundhouse-kicks and/or dive away from explosions, it sounds like there will be plenty of new blood in the sequel. “We also need some new blood in there,” Stallone said. “A Navy Seal-type, because with the Expendables none of them have 20-20 vision anymore. They need some help, man.”

Even after JCVD completely deconstructed his image and legacy, Jean-Claude Van Damme continues giving the people what they want in the form of straight-up action movies. Coming this January he revisits the terrain of Universal Soldier with yet another movie, Universal Soldier: Regeneration. Yes, it's going directly to DVD, but that doesn't mean the chance to see Van Damme, Andrei Arlovski and Dolph Lundgren duking it out won't be appreciated.

Check out the trailer below for just the kind of artillery and catchphrases you've come to expect. Universal Soldier: Regeneration comes to DVD on January 5th.

When the home video industry moves from one format to another, whether VHS to DVD or DVD to Blu-ray, society is given a chance to bury the films it never should have made by not converting them to the new format. Unfortunately, that opportunity was missed with Street Fighter: The Movie. The 1994 film adaptation of the arcade fighter will be released on Blu-ray on February 10th.

The release date of Street Fighter: Extreme Edition will coincide roughly with that of Street Fighter IV, which is set to hit next-gen consoles this winter. Apparently they're counting onSFIV's release to generate excitement about the franchise and inspire people to buy the Blu-ray. The reverse scenario seems very unlikely. The disc will come with the usual extras - director commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes, etc.

It's probably one of the better video game film adaptation out there, though that's obviously not saying much. Still, it was fairly impressive that they managed to string together all of the random ass characters from the games into one plot. Also, it's got Raul Julia and he's a pretty good actor in films other than this one. I'd provide more reasons to buy it but doubtless you're all scrambling to pre-order copies now so don't let me keep you.