Thus, the prospects are now open for the former boxer-turned-actor to headline another feature film already underway, and according to Variety, that would be director Dimitri Logothetis’s Kickboxer: Retaliation. The report writes that Tyson will play a tough convict forced in a world of fighting behind bars, adding to a roster of 14 champion athletes, including UFC names like Strawweight division fighter Paige VanZant.
“This is a monumental moment for us,: said producer Robert Hickman of Our House Films. “We have already signed on 14 champions from the sporting world, mostly decorated fighters from the UFC, being able to add Mike Tyson as a cast member adds a whole new element and excitement to the film.”
“Words cannot express my excitement for this second installment,” [said Logothetis]. “The passion I have for this genre just keeps getting bigger and the cast we have assembled is phenomenal. Expect to see spectacular, non-stop, action-packed martial arts from real fighters.”
The new film, currently shooting in Los Angeles and Nevada before heading to Thailand, sequelizes the forthcoming release of Kickboxer: Vengeance, a reboot of the 1989 sports thriller that now sees martial artist and actor Alain Moussi (Street Fighter: Resurrection) making his lead feature debut next to the film’s original star, Jean-Claude Van Damme who co-stars. Slated for a U.S. VoD release now pushed to September, John Stockwell directs from a script by Logothetis who served as producer, and also stars Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, Sara Malakul Lane, Georges St. Pierre and the late Darren Shahlavi.
Logothetis’s sequel also adds Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson opposite Moussi as the new nemesis. Given Tyson’s addition though, I think we might have an idea about where this sequel is going, but I look forward to learning more about this in the months ahead.