A Sequel To Steven Seagal Debut, ABOVE THE LAW, May Be In The Works!

Indeed, action star Steven Seagal’s film career has gone quite unceremonious in the last fourteen years. He was a pinnacle of 90’s action movie stardom on the big screen next to the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis before ultimately seuging into the smaller-scale direct-to-DVD market where he otherwise continues to make a name for himself among loyal niche action fans.

At any rate, however, even Seagal himself has been mindful as of late with respect to the direction of his career, and so the verdict remains pending on his latest aim toward improving it with the Thailand-set action thriller. With that in mind, action fans may recall there being several previous reports of hopeful progress on sequels to some of Seagal’s earlier hits from his glory days, including talk of an Under Siege 3 with which things are apparently still quiet, and even that doesn’t suggest much on whether it is happening or not, so it’s definitely a wait-and-see type of thing.

That said, at least one other move toward sequel territory comes from a tweet by producer Richard Woody Mister announcing the development of a sequel to the very film in which Seagal, by then already a fully-fledged aikido expert, made his theatrical debut. For this, we turn to Above The Law, the 1988 cop thriller, written by Seagal and director Andrew Davis which starred the budding actor as Nico, a former CIA recruit who becomes discouraged by the methods of his superiors, quits and settles for life as a Chicago family man and vice cop. When he discovers C4 during a drug arrest, the trail of blood and bullets hint at a more nefarious plot by the corrupt echelons of his former CIA past, which Nico must thwart once and for all.

The film is actually one of my few personal Seagal favorites with most of his films thereafter measuring somewhat better or average, and certainly above a few of the stinkers. Inocuous jokes about his weight and flailing arms while running aside, the film presents a solid debut for Seagal with high drama and explosive action sequences with Seagal purely in his prime, next to the ever-charming Pam Grier who plays his partner, and actor Henry Silva at his best as the villain.

I don’t know if a lot of people saw this sequel coming aside from those possibly more in the know, but I’m certainly glad that this one is gaining ground. Seagal may be far from the glory days as a Hollywood star, but a return to the fray as Nico could bode well for nostalgic fans ardent of films like The Expendables trilogy or Escape Plan. It’s gonna take the right director and the right creative vision, and there are plenty of talented stunt and action performers in Chicago who could possibly help do this particular movie some justice next to a good script.

Are you looking forward to a sequel to Above The Law? Comment below and share your thoughts!