Jean-Claude Van Damme takes on the Yakuza in Katana — pitched as Bloodsport meets Taken and John Wick
Jean-Claude Van Damme is returning to bruising basics with a new Yakuza punch-up — but wait till you hear what it’s called.
If you thought Jean-Claude Van Damme was hanging up his gloves after all these years, think again. The bloke is still at it — churning out tough guy roles, popping up as DLC in things like Mortal Kombat 1, and lending his chops to films like The Gardener. Now he's heading back to the kind of martial arts movie that made him a household name, this time with a bit of Yakuza flair.
Directing Jean-Claude Van Damme in Katana is a lifelong dream come true. I want to bring together the power of Bloodsport, the urgency of Taken and the energy of John Wick in a deeply human story: a father entering Japan’s criminal underworld to save his daughter. His experience is his strength. I want audiences to feel every impact, every breath, and the love that keeps him fighting.
That bit above comes straight from Jeremy Zag, the French creator, writer and director behind Katana — and, yes, he's the one responsible for the whole Miraculous World animated saga that your kids might be glued to.
Plot and pedigree
So what's Katana about? Think Van Damme as a washed-up (but still hard as nails) former champion fighter, who's trying to live in peace as a dad, until his daughter is kidnapped by the Yakuza in Japan. Which means, obviously, he's dragged right back into the sort of business he's best at — punching bad guys in the face. If that sounds like a mashup of Bloodsport, Taken and John Wick, you're absolutely not wrong, that's exactly what the filmmakers are hoping for.
- Van Damme leads as the ex-fighter dad
- Melsik Baghdasaryan, an Armenian MMA slugger, is on board
- Cyril Benzaquen, who's made his name as a French Muay Thai and kickboxing champ, completes the main trio
The production side has got a bit of Franco-Japanese collaboration going. It's coming via Division Z together with Tokyo-based Wowow Bridge, the same outfit who helped bring Tokyo Vice to HBO Max. So they're not new to making international crime drama work on Japanese soil.
Filming on Katana is lined up to kick off next spring in Japan.
The script is apparently ready to go — buyers heading to the American Film Market will get a look, alongside some early footage (or a "sizzle reel," as the industry types insist on calling it). The sales are being handled by a company called The Veterans, who specialise in shipping action fare like this around the globe.