Much ado has been said among fans for a potential sequel to action auteur John Woo‘s 1993 Hollywood feature, Hard Target. It felt more like a standalone actioner on its face, really, but that doesn’t mean following up would be impossible.
Lead actor and action star Jean-Claude Van Damme is all for sequels to any number of his previous milestone hits, what with Hard Target having futher embedded his place as a Hollywood legend. So, if the latest report from Nu is true following earlier blurbs from the set of Van Damme’s China set on Pound Of Flesh, it’s no real surprise and I’m certain that nostalgic fans will surely appreciate this latest offering, now with The Man With The Iron Fists 2 and The Admiral helmer Roel Reiné in the director’s chair. However, there’s at least one catch.
Reiné is reportedly set to begin shooting Hard Target 2 in October through November without Van Damme returning to the role of skilled Cajun survivalist, Chance Boudreaux. While the first film saw our protagonist take on evil rich game hunters targeting Lousiana’s homeless veterans, the sequel is currently being scripted for similar action sequences to take place in Thailand and Burma.
With Van Damme becoming quite the actor in recent years, a sequel re-entry for the screen persona of Chance Boudreaux would have been very welcoming for the fanbase with a gritty character that sticks greatly to its instincts when danger thickens. Unfortunately though, that doesn’t appear to be happening, although thankfully Woo himself may be on board to produce with actor Vinnie Jones reportedly set for a role.
Van Damme’s schedule may be pretty loaded considering previously announced titles like The Tower and The Penrose Affair are still pending, so it’s reasonable to believe he’ll be too busy for this one even if he were the preferred candidate to lead. At any rate, hopefully we’ll soon learn more on who will be filling his shoes.
Jones is currently expected to appear in several more films from here on, including Allan Ungar’s Gridlocked which has a 2016 stamp while Reiné’s epic period naval actioner, The Admiral, awaits its U.S. release this Spring from XLrator.
Stay tuned for more info.
H/T: The Action Elite