Jean-Claude Van Damme Returning to Kickboxer

VIDEO: Watch this epic of Jean-Claude Van Damme and how he kicks ass in the action packed film “Kickboxer”

This time, however, Van Damme is not the student but the master and is replacing Thai action star Tony Jaa, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.

Kickboxer follows Kurt Sloan (Moussi), a talented martial artist who travels to Thailand where he must learn the secrets of the kickboxer to avenge his brother’s death at the hands of Tong Po (Bautista).

Kickboxer: Vengeance is an upcoming American martial arts film directed by John Stockwell, and starring Alain Moussi, Jean-Claude Van Damme (who played Kurt Sloane in the original Kickboxer), Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, Georges St-Pierre and Darren Shahlavi (in his final film role). It is the sixth installment of the Kickboxer series, and a remake of the original 1989 Kickboxer film, serving as a reboot of the franchise.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Van Damme would take the role of Master Chow, a kickboxing legend who teaches his pupil, Kurt Sloan, the art of the fighting style. Van Damme played the character of Sloan in the the original Kickboxer movie. The role of Master Chow was originally meant for Tony Ja, but the Thai action star left the project over scheduling conflicts.

Van Damme would be joined by many comic book actors. With Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista (Drax), X-Men: Days of Future Past’s Alain Moussi (William Stryker’s stunt double), and Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s Georges St. Pierre (Batroc) rounding out the cast, Kickboxer may be the biggest gathering of comic book actors this side of American Hustle.

The original Kickboxer was a major movie for Van Dame’s career, and the Beligan martial artists became the go-to Hollywood actor for action movies in the nineties.

Alain Moussi, an occasional actor and longtime stuntman for films like X-Men: Days of Future Past and Pacific Rim, will star as Sloan in the Kickboxer update, while Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Dave Bautista will play the villain, Tong Po. The cast also features UFC welterweight champion, George St. Pierre, who recently appeared as Batroc in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.