Bloodsport: A24 in negotiations for the remake rights

Cannon Films weren’t satisfied with their 1988 martial arts tournament movie Bloodsport, but when they reluctantly sent it out into the world in 1988 it proved to be a big hit, launching Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career as an action hero. The film was followed by three sequels, none of which starred Van Damme – and for the last couple of decades, there have been rumblings about a revival. Twenty years ago, Bloodsport co-writer Sheldon Lettich tried to get a film called Bloodsport: A New Beginning off the ground, but the project fell apart. In 2011, Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm) was attached to direct a “reinvention,” working from a screenplay by The Karate Kid creator Robert Mark Kamen. In 2013, James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) replaced Noyce at the helm. The project never made it into production. In 2019, there was a rumor that John Wick directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski were considering making a Bloodsport remake. And now, industry scooper Jeff Sneider of The InSneider reports that the production and distribution company A24 is in negotiations for the remake rights!

A24 is best known for releasing films like Ex Machina, The Witch, The Florida Project, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lady Bird, The Disaster Artist, Hereditary, Midsommar, The Lighthouse, Uncut Gems, Best Picture winners Moonlight and Everything Everywhere All at Once, etc. They’ve largely been considered to be an arthouse company – but recently, they’ve decided to shift their strategy from arthouse films to more commercial films, including action and big IP projects. This strategy includes the war movie Warfare, which reaches theatres this weekend, Adam Wingard’s gonzo horror action movie Onslaught, the UFC movie The Smashing Machine, a Barney movie from Ayo Edebiri and Daniel Kaluuya, and the Friday the 13th Peacock series Crystal Lake, which recently got Linda Cardellini to sign on to play Pamela Voorhees. And now, apparently, a Bloodsport remake.

Directed by Newt Arnold from a screenplay by Christopher Cosby, Mel Friedman, and Sheldon Lettich, the original Bloodsport had the following synopsis: U.S. soldier Frank Dux has come to Hong Kong to be accepted into the Kumite, a highly secret and extremely violent martial-arts competition. While trying to gain access into the underground world of clandestine fighters, he also has to avoid military officers who consider him to be AWOL. After enduring a difficult training and beginning a romance with journalist Janice Kent, Frank is given the opportunity to fight. But can he survive?

Kamen’s remake script from many years ago moved the setting to Brazil and dealt with “the underground world of Brazilian Vale Tudo fighting,” but A24 will probably start over from scratch.

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