Scott Adkins Directs Brawler, Teams With Mortal Kombat Star Lewis Tan for a Heavy-Hitting Debut

Here’s something for action movie fans who feel like they’re stuck in the wrong decade: Scott Adkins is finally stepping behind the camera. Yeah, the guy’s been kicking people in the face on screen for ages but with his new film Brawler, he’s taking a swing at directing for the first time.

If you’re wondering what you’re in for, let’s just say the cast is practically a who's who of B-movie action. Alongside Adkins (because of course he’s starring in his own directorial debut), you’ve got Lewis Tan—yep, the guy from those recent Mortal Kombat movies. Rounding out the main cast: Larry Lamb (he was great in The Hatton Garden Job) and Emily Bennett.

The Plot (Because Of Course It’s About Fists)

I’m not exaggerating. Here’s the setup—Adkins is playing a disgraced MMA champ who gets pulled back into a world of underground violence (imagine: lots of dim lighting and people shouting from the sidelines), all thanks to the usual ‘sins of his past’. The guy has nothing but his fists (because action movies never met a metaphor they didn’t try to make literal) and he’s forced to square up with hitmen, criminal gangs, and—classic—his ‘own inner demons’. Oh yeah, and he’s trying to protect his loved ones on top of it.

Who's Backstage?

• Director/Star: Scott Adkins
• Co-Star: Lewis Tan (Mortal Kombat & Mortal Kombat 2)
• Supporting Cast: Larry Lamb, Emily Bennett
• Screenplay: Matt Venne (Dexter: Resurrection)
• Producers: Ben Jacques (worked with Adkins on the One Shot franchise), Craig Baumgarten (Universal Soldier)
• Exec Producers: Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel from Signature Films (they were both on Trap House)

What’s New Here?

Adkins has already spent the last 20 years bouncing around as one of those ‘should’ve been a household name’ action guys—honestly, if he’d come up in the 90s, we’d probably be talking about him in the same breath as Van Damme. But with Brawler, he’s making it official: he wants to direct now, not just crack skulls on cue.

'After twenty years of building a career as an actor in the action world, I was ready to get behind the camera. The script for Brawler gripped me and it became clear that it should be the story I tell in my first feature film. I look forward to audiences seeing my work in this new career milestone.'

That’s straight from Adkins, who sounds genuinely stoked (and probably a little exhausted) about taking on both jobs at once.

Meanwhile, producers Ben Jacques and Craig Baumgarten are hyping up the project as not just a moment for Adkins, but for action fans—especially since this puts Adkins and Tan in a movie together for the first time (honestly, it’s weird that never happened sooner).

If you’re curious about when and how this will drop, Brawler is being shopped around at Cannes this year—so expect more info soon, and maybe a festival brawl or two (just kidding, mostly). Watch this space.