Van Damme Says He Beat Steven Seagal for Death Warrant After Bruce Willis Turned It Down — Years Before Their Feud Nearly Came to Blows

Death Warrant turned 36 on September 14, around the same time that Jean-Claude Van Damme’s name has made it into headlines again – this time for the announcement of A24’s Bloodsport remake with Michaela Coel and, of course, his 66th birthday on October 18. But what most people don’t know is that Death Warrant was originally meant to be a Bruce Willis flick, and by Van Damme’s account, Steven Seagal was in the running too.

From 1988 onward, Jean-Claude Van Damme was on a roll with martial arts action movies such as Bloodsport and Kickboxer, which proved highly profitable because they were made on a low budget. As the Muscles from Brussels entered the ‘90s era, he continued his winning streak with Lionheart, originally released overseas in 1990 before rolling out in the US a year later, and Death Warrant. The latter cost only $6 million to make and became a hit right out of the gate, debuting at No. 3 with a respectable $5 million before closing out at $16.8 million domestically. It also boosted overseas box office ticket sales, totaling $46.7 million worldwide.

RELATED: Michaela Coel Reimagines A24’s Bloodsport for a New Generation

Bruce Willis Turned Down Death Warrant for Die Hard 2

Although Van Damme’s career was already on the rise, the martial arts star wasn’t a shoo-in favorite to land the Detective Louis Burke role. Cannon Films, the studio originally in charge of the production and distribution, wanted a highly bankable star to play the character instead, despite having prior success with Van Damme in Bloodsport and Cyborg. They were first interested in Bruce Willis, the former Moonlighting television star who already became an overnight sensation after leading Die Hard to box-office glory.

Besides, the story on Death Warrant centers on a police detective who goes undercover in a corrupt California state prison to investigate a series of brutal murders, which came across as the right fit for Willis, especially given his experience playing a cop in Die Hard.

But he ended up declining the offer since the movie conflicted with his Die Hard 2 shooting schedule, which already had the 1990 release date locked in. It’s hard to imagine if Willis actually accepted the role for Death Warrant; the studio – 20th Century Fox – behind Die Hard 2 would have to give up the lucrative July 1990 summer release slot and delay the release further.

Was Steven Seagal Almost Cast in Death Warrant?

According to Van Damme, with Bruce Willis out of the equation, the studio pivoted their A-list casting strategy to cast a martial arts star instead, with Van Damme and Steven Seagal competing to secure the lead role in Death Warrant. Seagal was a rising action star at the time, having made his screen debut in Warner Bros.’ Above the Law (1988), which became a solid box-office performer and introduced the world to his uniquely grappling-style aikido fight technique. His bigger hit, Hard to Kill, wouldn’t arrive until February 1990, months after Death Warrant began filming.

Seagal didn’t get the part, and it went to Van Damme instead. Had Seagal landed the Detective Louis Burke role, Cannon Films would have to deal with the star’s notorious creative control over his character, the script, and the action choreography, like what he did in Above the Law as a co-producer and co-creator. Such a demand wouldn’t fit Cannon Films’ reputation, given the studio’s priority in all things fast and efficient to accommodate its tight budget. It didn’t help either that Cannon Films was already cash-strapped by the mid-1980s after suffering from costly box-office disasters, including Lifeforce, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and Masters of the Universe.

Despite Seagal losing the role to Van Damme, it didn’t deter him from continuing his post-Above the Law success with his next two movies, Hard to Kill and Marked for Death, both released a few months apart in 1990. It also wasn’t the last time the pair were linked to the same project: Van Damme later said both were approached for Demolition Man.

How the Van Damme vs. Seagal Feud Began After Death Warrant

Then, a year later, when Seagal was invited as a special guest on The Arsenio Hall Show, the host asked the star what he thought of Van Damme’s work, only for the latter to reply with a shrugged-off shoulder gesture and casually want him to “change the subject”. But Hall kept pressing on about Van Damme’s martial arts credentials, to which Seagal finally said it’s “a matter of opinion that he was a champion anywhere.”

Seagal’s public insult triggered a long, bitter rivalry after Van Damme found out about it, resulting in a face-to-face encounter during a promotional event at Planet Hollywood in 1994. Van Damme confronted Seagal, asking him the reason behind his remark on television in the first place. They ended up shaking hands instead, even though the bad blood remained in Van Damme’s mind.

Then came the backyard fight that never happened. According to Sylvester Stallone, Van Damme challenged Seagal to take it outside during a 1997 party at Stallone’s Miami home, but Seagal made an excuse and left. Stallone said Van Damme tracked him down at a nightclub later that night and offered again, only for Seagal to slip away a second time.

RELATED: “Pulled a Houdini” – Sylvester Stallone: Steven Seagal Fled Jean-Claude Van Damme Twice

Later, in a 2023 interview with The Telegraph, Van Damme recalled how former head of Sony Pictures Peter Guber had “an idea to have a fight between [him] and Steven [Seagal] at The Mirage [for] twenty million each.” Except that Seagal chose not to “take the fight”. Van Damme has since softened his stance, and the two have reportedly made peace.

Where to Stream Death Warrant (1990) for Free

Death Warrant is currently streaming on Tubi. It’s also free with ads on Pluto TV and The Roku Channel.