Jean-Claude Van Damme is 66 years old, but he’s still flexing his muscles and martial arts prowess in the action genre, with his most recent one being The Gardener, a.k.a. Le Jardinier (Rotten Tomatoes: no Tomatometer score yet). Now, The Muscles from Brussels has an upcoming action thriller, Katana, to add to his belt. He plays a former world champion fighter who’s now a father, wanting to leave his dark past behind, only to revert to his former self after the yakuza in Japan kidnaps his daughter.
Sounds like Taken, but leaning more on the martial arts side – something that Van Damme is good at. Besides, Jeremy Zag, the French writer and director of the film and creator of the hit Miraculous franchise, wants to bring his passion for Japanese anime into exploring “the samurai’s code of honor and the beauty and intensity of katana combat”, and turning Katana into “a spectacular adventure for a worldwide audience”. According to Deadline, the film is being launched to international buyers by sales company The Veterans ahead of the American Film Market (AFM).
Jeremy Zag Calls Directing Van Damme in Katana a Dream Come True
A longtime karate devotee himself, having practised 30 years of Kyokushin martial arts, Zag cited it as a dream come true to direct Van Damme, even promising to merge “the power of Bloodsport, the urgency of Taken and the energy of John Wick” with “a deeply human story”. Katana isn’t just a fight showcase for Van Damme, as the movie also features other real-life martial artists, including Armenian MMA fighter Melsik Baghdasaryan and French Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Cyril Benzaquen.
Zag also added that he and Van Damme “want to make one last great martial arts film” since for years the Belgian martial arts star “hadn’t wanted to return to this kind of cinema”. Looking at Jeremy Zag’s filmography, his credits include creating the Miraculous Chibi and Ghostforce animated series, and directing the feature-length Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie. It would be interesting to see his transition to directing something out of his comfort zone for a change: what looks like his first live-action feature film that has been in development since 2022, which appears to have evolved from What’s My Name? into Katana.
Katana Would Be Van Damme’s First Traditional Martial Arts Movie Since 2018
Interestingly, the last time Van Damme acted in a traditional martial arts movie was Kickboxer: Retaliation back in 2018, where he reprised his Master Durand character from Kickboxer: Vengeance. Of course, it was the late ‘80s that the then-young Van Damme hit his breakthrough, notably his leading-man turn playing Frank Dux in Bloodsport (1988), and again as Kurt Sloane in Kickboxer (1989).
Then came the ‘90s, as he continued to embrace the martial arts genre, including Lionheart (1990) and The Quest (1996), where the latter marked his directorial debut.
Katana Release Date, Filming Locations and Where to Watch
The movie is set to enter production in spring 2027, with filming to take place in Japan, France, and Los Angeles. At the time of writing, no release date has been revealed yet for Katana.
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As for where to watch, there is no streaming home yet, but Van Damme’s latest film, The Gardener, is available to watch via digital platforms in the US, including Fandango at Home.
