The head of Cannon Pictures hated Bloodsport so much, he nixed a Lone Wolf McQuade sequel which would have co-starred JCVD.

While Bloodsport, the 1988 martial arts tournament movie, is widely considered by fans to be Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best film, it almost never saw the light of day. Indeed, according to Nick De Semlyen’s book, “Last Action Heroes” (buy it here), the film was deemed unreleasable by Cannon Pictures head Menachem Golan. The film sat on the shelf for fourteen months and was considered so bad that Golan intended to release the movie direct-to-video. Things got so heated that Golan refused to go ahead with a proposed sequel to Lone Wolf McQuade, which would have featured Van Damme teaming up with Chuck Norris (who was an early mentor to JCVD). He wanted Michael Dudikoff instead.

According to the book, Van Damme, who had returned to his old job as a limo driver when Bloodsport wrapped, convinced the studio to allow him to re-edit the film with Towering Inferno editor Carl Press. The two reworked the fight scenes and trimmed down some of the drama, resulting in a faster-paced cut that the studio allowed them to release. However, in 1988, the studio was on the verge of going under, thanks to their attempt to hit the big time with a trio of would-be blockbusters in 1987. The films Over the Top, Masters of the Universe and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace all tanked at the box office, and in 1988, the studio could barely afford to promote Bloodsport. Thus, JCVD and the film rolled out in Asia and Europe before hitting North America, and by then, the film’s international success meant that the film was already profitable. It only grossed $11.7 million domestically, but overseas, it made over $50 million, all on a budget of only $2.3 million. On VHS, it became one of the biggest-selling titles in the Warner Bros library.

It’s incredible that Menahem Golan didn’t think the film was worth releasing, given how bad some of the product Cannon put out in their heyday was. Most studios would have never released Superman IV in the shape it was in theatres. Of all the films Cannon produced, Bloodsport is arguably the one with the most staying power. It is considered by many (myself included) to be one of the best American Martial Arts movies ever made.

Of course, after Bloodsport was a hit, JCVD was immediately put into two more Cannon films, Cyborg and Death Warrant. But the time the latter film came out, Golan had left the company. If JCVD had been stuck in a long term contract with Cannon, many believe his career would have never taken off. Take for example what happened to Michael Dudikoff. He should have been cast in bigger movies post American Ninja and Avenging Force, rather than smaller films. In many ways, their spendthrift ways doomed him to a career dominated by DTV movies.

Bloodsport has the following synopsis: U.S. soldier Frank Dux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) 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 (Leah Ayres), Frank is given the opportunity to fight. But can he survive?

Do you think Bloodsport is JCVD’s best movie? Let us know in the comments.

Chris Morgan and Dwayne Johnson currently collaborated on Red One, but he says the Hobbs & Shaw sequel is still up in the air.

Screenwriter Chris Morgan has been a big contributor to the Fast & Furious franchise, having started with the series’ third entry, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and writing each sequel up to The Fate of the Furious. Morgan would opt to work on the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw for Dwayne Johnson and the business partnership would continue as he also wrote the script for Johnson’s latest Christmas movie Red One. The Hollywood Reporter recently sat down with Morgan as he talks the future of the Fast & Furious franchise and how another Hobbs movie was supposed to fit in.

After Johnson made a surprise cameo appearance in Fast X, fans of the franchise breathed a sigh of relief as he and Diesel seemed to have put their differences aside for one more collaboration and the stage had been set for Hobbs to re-join the family. It was once announced that another Hobbs movie (that doesn’t seem to partner him up with Shaw this time around) was planned to set up Fast 11. When THR asked if that is still being developed, Morgan answered,

That’s really something the studio would have to speak to. We’re talking about what comes when and how, but I’ll leave that to greater minds than mine.”

However, he would also reveal a possible related project he’s working on but isn’t at liberty to divulge much detail,

It’s under lock and key. I can say that I’m working on a Hobbs & Shaw kind of script. So we’ll see where that goes, but I’m excited about it.”

One thing the writer is incredibly excited to talk about is the revelation from past years that the Academy Award-winning director of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, is a fan of the Fast & Furious series and cites Morgan’s Tokyo Drift as his favorite. When asked if that news had floored him when it came to light, Morgan responded, “How could it not? He is literally one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of humanity, and he likes my movie. By the way, I’ve spoken to him about it since then.” Morgan is also happy that the reception on that film has come around since it first released, “When the movie came out, the reviews weren’t great; people didn’t like it. […] So, from where we started to now, you have no idea how good it feels to hear that everyone appreciates what we’ve always appreciated about it, which is Japan and drifting culture.”

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.

Disney continues to tease the live-action adventure of Lilo & Stitch with a new poster of the cute blue alien with his mouth full.

Disney has been teasing out the new Lilo & Stitch live-action adaptation with a first look of the furry blue creature, then a teaser trailer showcasing Stitch rampaging through a series of sandcastles, which includes a sandcastle made to look like the famous Disney castle. We’re given just a tiny bit more of the wild alien pet acting on instincts with his mouth munching on a coconut creature. The poster would sport a very cheeky tagline, “Hold on to your coconuts.” The new adaptation is set to hit theaters on May 23, 2025.

Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch stars Maia Kealoha as Lilo in reimagining the mouse-eared studio’s 2002 animated classic. Other players include Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Courtney B. Vance, Sydney Agudong, and Chris Sanders as the voice of Stitch. The plot focuses on a young, parentless girl who adopts a “dog” from the local pound, utterly unaware that it’s supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that’s taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace. Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch will be in theaters during the same Memorial Day window as Tom Cruise’s latest stunt spectacular, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning.

Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) directs Lilo & Stitch from a script by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, based on a previous draft by Mike Van Wess. Disney announced the studio’s live-action Lilo & Stitch in February 2018, but footage of Stitch bursting through the film’s logo debuted at 2024’s D23 conference. Lilo & Stitch joins the studio’s long list of live-action remakes after adaptations like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Dumbo, Mulan, and The Little Mermaid. Disney won’t stop there, of course. Live-action versions of Bambi, Peter Pan, and Moana are also in the works, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui for Moana.

Disney’s Snow White, starring Rachel Zigler as the studio’s first princess, arrives in theaters on March 21, 2025. Gal Gadot also stars as the Evil Queen, with Ansu Kabia as the Hunstman and Andrew Burnap as Jonathan. Reactions to the film’s first trailer have not been kind, with many repulsed by the look of the film’s lovable Dwarves.

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.

Don’t expect Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve to make a Star Wars movie, as he feels the franchise derailed way back in 1983

Disney and Lucasfilm have been attached a lot of filmmakers to various Star Wars projects. Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, James Mangold, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Kevin Feige, Patty Jenkins, Donald Glover, Taika Waititi, Rian Johnson, Shawn Levy – they’re all either currently working on something that’s set in the Star Wars universe, or have worked on projects that aren’t moving forward. But one filmmaker we shouldn’t expect to see stepping into the Star Wars franchise is Denis Villeneuve, director of Blade Runner 2049 and the recent Dune movies. That’s because Villeneuve feels the series derailed way back in 1983, with the release of Return of the Jedi.

During an interview on The Town podcast, Villeneuve said (as reported by The Hollywood Reporter), “I was the target audience (for the original Star Wars film). I was 10 years old. It went to my brain like a silver bullet. I became obsessed with Star Wars. I mean, The Empire Strikes Back is the movie that I anticipated the most in my life. I saw the movie a billion times onscreen. I was traumatized by The Empire Strikes Back. I adore Star Wars. The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi. It’s a long story. I was 15 years old, and my best friend and I wanted to take a cab and go to L.A. and talk to George Lucas — we were so angry! Still today, the Ewoks. It turned out to be a comedy for kids. … Star Wars became crystallized in its own mythology, very dogmatic, it seemed like a recipe, no more surprises. So I’m not dreaming to do a Star Wars because it feels like code is very codified.“

As for where he stands on Star Trek, the director simply said, “I’m not a Trekkie.“

Villeneuve may not have any Star Wars or Star Trek in his future, but he will be making more Dune. He’s working on the script for the third film in that franchise, Dune Messiah, based on a novel by Dune creator Frank Herbert. The novel Dune Messiah has the following description: Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known-and feared-as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the Known Universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremens, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne-and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty.

Here’s hoping fans of his Dune movies will have a more positive reaction to Dune Messiah than he had to Return of the Jedi.

Do you share Denis Villeneuve’s opinion on Star Wars and Return of the Jedi? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

A trailer has been released for the animated comedy Night of the Zoopocalypse, which is based on a concept from Clive Barker

Best-selling genre author Clive Barker has brought us the horrors of Rawhead Rex, Hellraiser, Nightbreed, Candyman, Lord of Illusions, The Midnight Meat Train, Dread, and Books of Blood, among other things – and now he’s bringing us the animated comedy Night of the Zoopocalypse. A trailer for the film, which is set to reach theatres on March 7, 2025, can be seen in the embed above.

Barker provided the concept for Night of the Zoopocalypse, and the idea was then fleshed out into a screenplay by Steven Hoban and James Kee. Directed by Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro, the movie has the following synopsis: One night, a meteor crashes into Colepepper Zoo unleashing a virus that transforms the animals into strange and hilarious slobbering zombie mutants. Gracie, a young quirky wolf, teams up with a gruff and fearsome mountain lion to find a way back to her pack. As the zoo is overrun, they must come up with a plan to get all the animals back to normal. Together with the help of a motley crew of survivors – Xavier the movie-obsessed lemur, Frida the fiery capybara, Ash the sarcastic, fabulous ostrich and Felix the treacherous monkey – they embark on a perilous mission to rescue the zoo and defeat Bunny Zero, the deranged mutant-king, determined to spread the virus beyond the zoo walls. Welcome to… the zoopocalypse!

The voice cast includes David Harbour (Stranger Things), Scott Thompson (The Kids in the Hall), Lisa Ortiz (Pokémon), Kyle Derek (Cube Zero), Scott Farley (Murdoch Mysteries), Joshua Graham (Dino Ranch), Gabbi Kosmidis (Unicorn Academy), Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Heather Loreto (Reasonable Doubt), Bryn McAuley (Hotel Transylvania), Christina Nova (Chapelwaite), Carolyn Scott (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), and Pierre Simpson (Three Pines).

Steven Hoban produced Night of the Zoopocalypse with Yohann Comte, Joe Iacono, Mark Smith, and Wes Lui. Barker serves as an executive producer alongside Noah Segal, Kate Parkes, and Baptiste Salvan. Joanna Coathup was the associate producer and Christina Rotsaert the line producer.

What did you think of the trailer for Night of the Zoopocalypse? Are you looking forward to this Clive Barker-inspired animated comedy? Let us know by leaving a comment below. I am very interested in seeing how this one is going to turn out.

Paddington in Peru has already been released in the UK, but the films US release date has been pushed back.

Paddington in Peru was released in the UK earlier this month, with a US release set for the new year. However, fans will have to wait a little longer as Sony Pictures has pushed the release back by a month.

The film was set to hit US theaters on January 17, 2025, but will now debut on February 14, 2025. The Paddington sequel has given StudioCanal its biggest-ever opening with a 3-day total of £9.65 million. The first film opened to £5.1 million, and the sequel grossed £8.2 million in its debut. Seems that audiences can’t get enough of that marmalade-loving bastard. While the reactions to the sequel weren’t nearly as glowing as the first two films (which are damn-near perfect), there’s still a lot of fun to be had. StudioCanal is already developing Paddington 4 as well as a new TV series.

Paddington in Peru “follows Paddington and the Brown family as they visit Aunt Lucy in Peru. A thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and to the mountain peaks of Peru.” Ben Whishaw returns to voice Paddington, with Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, and Imelda Staunton rounding out the cast.

Paul King, who directed the first two movies, didn’t return for Paddington in Peru as he made the difficult choice to helm Wonka instead. “It was really difficult, because I’d spent eight years with the bear and I felt such incredible love for him,” King said. “He’s an animated character, and the design and the love that went into every single follicle was labor intensive and done with such heart. So it’s kind of like sending your kid off to school and going, ‘I hope you’ll be okay!’ But I also know it was the right thing to do.“

Paul King added that “because there’s so much Paddington source material, you could make 50 Paddington movies. I’d be a hundred years old and still doing Paddington.” If there was only enough source material to make two or three films, King said that things might have been different, but he was “really pleased” with where they left Paddington after the second movie and that it was “time to let go and give somebody else a shot.” King’s next project will see him helming the Prince Charming movie for Disney.

Once again, the new Paddington in Peru US release date is February 14, 2025.

Margot Robbie doesn’t know why audiences hated Damien Chazelle’s Babylon; hopes it will pull a Shawshank Redemption twenty years from now.

After the near-universal acclaim of Whiplash and La La Land, it seemed that director Damien Chazelle could do no wrong. However, the release of the star-studded Babylon was met with mixed reviews and a disappointing box office, and Margot Robbie is still confused as to why audiences hated the film.

Babylon depicts the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. It was Chazelle’s most expensive and most ambitious project to date, which is a shame that it was perceived as such a letdown. “I still can’t figure out why people really hated it,” Robbie said in a conversation with Ben Mankiewicz on the Talking Pictures podcast. “I wonder if in 20 years people are going to be like, ‘Wait, Babylon didn’t do well at the time? That’s crazy.’ When you hear something like, [The] Shawshank Redemption was a failure at the time, or whatever it is, and you’re like, ‘Oh, how is that possible?’“

As for Chazelle, the director noted earlier this year that the flop of Babylon could very well hurt his future projects. “I’m in a sort of trepidatious state of mind, but I have no illusions. I won’t get a budget of Babylon size any time soon, or at least not on this next one,” Chazelle said. “Certainly, in financial terms, Babylon didn’t work at all…You try to not have that effect [on] what you’re doing creatively, but, at some level, it can’t help but affect it. But maybe that’s OK? I have a very mixed mind about it. Who knows. Maybe I won’t be able to get this one made. I have no idea. We’ll have to wait and see.“

Our own Chris Bumbray found Babylon to be a mixed bag. “The filmmaking is technically brilliant, but the storytelling is hit-and-miss. While it still deserves to be seen (in theaters), it’s also frustratingly evocative of other, much-better movies, specifically The Wolf of Wall Street and Boogie Nights,” Bumbray wrote in his review. “Chazelle seems focused on making the anti-La La Land, where this version of Hollywood is a cesspool that crushes dreams rather than makes them come true. He seems overly preoccupied with being provocative. While undeniably entertaining, Babylon is all over the place, although it’s so out there I wouldn’t be surprised if it develops a cult following at some point.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

What did you think of Babylon? Do you think it will be critically reappraised years from now?

Dwayne Johnson confirms that he’s wearing a bodysuit in the live-action Moana movie, which is currently filming.

Dwayne Johnson is currently filming the live-action Moana movie, and while the actor is a big dude, he’s not quite Maui big. When set photos from the Moana remake emerged last week, fans were quick to notice that Johnson appeared to be wearing a tattooed bodysuit, which he has now confirmed.

“That’s a suit that took a long time to put on. So, I’m so happy you said, ‘You bulked up,’ because when you say, ‘You bulked up,’ that means you couldn’t tell,” Johnson told Extra. “That is a couple of hours every day of transforming, putting that on. We shot outside and when those pictures surfaced, I was like, ‘Sh*t, we got caught, ’cause we were putting up, like, walls so there was no paparazzi. But they got into boats and started shooting pictures. So, but I’m happy you liked it. I can’t wait. The movie comes out in 2026.“

Although Johnson has a “handle on who Maui is,” he realized that the live-action project would be a very different experience. “I know the voice, I know the man, I know his inspiration. I can access things. I got it,” Johnson explained. “[But] the moment I stepped on set… as live-action Maui, I realized right away, ‘Oh, wow, this is different,’ in terms of this is real flesh-and-blood and skin-and-bones. It becomes real all of the sudden. It was almost like getting in my grandfather’s skin and what that was like.“

Thomas Kail (Hamilton) is directing the live-action Moana movie, which stars Catherine Laga’aia as Moana, Dwayne Johnson as Maui, Frankie Adams as Sina, John Tui as Chef Tui, and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala. The film will hit theaters on July 10, 2026.

Johnson also returned for Moana 2, which is now playing in theaters. The sequel takes audiences on an” expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.” You can check out a review from our own Tyler Nichols right here.

Sean “Diddy” Combs denied bail for the third time in his sex trafficking case, meaning he will likely remain in jail until his trial.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail for the third time, meaning he will likely not be released from New York City’s Metropolitan Detention Center before his trial next year.

The music mogul is facing charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. “Defendant Sean Combs renewed his motion for bail on November 8, 2024. The Court held a hearing on November 22, 2024, and the parties filed supplemental letters on November 25 and 26, 2024,” wrote Judge Arun Subramanian in a ruling. “For the following reasons, Combs’s motion is DENIED… The Court finds that the government has shown by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community.“

The report also claims there is “evidence supporting a serious risk of witness tampering,” as Combs allegedly “violated Bureau of Prisons regulations during his pretrial detention to obscure his communications with third parties.” Combs was said to have paid other inmates to use their Phone Access Code numbers in order to make calls to people who weren’t on his approved contact list.

Combs is facing accusations of sex-related crimes from at least 120 men and women dating back to 1991, some of whom were underage at the time, with the youngest accuser said to be just nine years old when the assault took place.

“For decades, SEAN COMBS, a/k/a “Puff Daddy,” a/k/a “P. Diddy,” a/k/a “Diddy,” a/k/a “PD,” a/k/a “Love,” the defendant, abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” read the initial indictment from the office of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “To do so, COMBS relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled–creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.“

Diddy has entered a “not guilty” plea to the charges, but if convicted, he faces anywhere from 15 years to life in prison. The trial date is set for May 5, 2025.

We celebrate Louis Gossett Jr’s legacy with a look at five of his best films for the eighties and nineties.

A few months ago, veteran character actor Louis Gossett Jr, who got his acting start in Broadway productions back in 1950s (including Take a Giant Step and a 1959 production of A Raisin in the Sun where he shared the stage with Sidney Poitier), passed away at 87. While we have to get used to the fact that our favorite actors are all human, and like all of us, eventually pass away, it can’t help but hurt anytime we lose a legend like this. But he leaves behind a rich legacy, so let’s look back at five of his coolest roles.

An Officer and a Gentleman:

Louis Gossett Jr. won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in this, and became the first African-American actor to win an Academy Award in that category in the process. Next to R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket, he’s likely the guy everyone pictures when they think of a drill sergeant. While folks usually think of this as a romance due to stars Richard Gere and Debra Winger and the famous Joe Cocker song, “Up Where We Belong,” the R-rated movie is a lot harder than you remember. Director Taylor Hackford made a darker movie than people remember, and the big martial arts showdown between Gossett and Gere is memorable. 

Enemy Mine:

Wolfgang Petersen’s Enemy Mine is an unfairly obscure sci-fi flick. In this one, Dennis Quaid stars as a futuristic soldier stranded on a hostile planet with his alien enemy, played by Louis Gossett Jr. The two eventually become friends, and the movie turns into a touching buddy comedy, with Gossett’s Jerry eventually becoming pregnant (not by Quaid, mind you – the movie’s not that provocative). It ends up being a surprisingly touching sci-fi flick, with loads of action towards the end. Gossett, even buried under a ton of makeup, is great in it.

The Principal:

This is an underrated drama/action flick from the eighties that stars James Belushi as a broken-down, alcoholic teacher who, as punishment, is assigned to be a principal at an inner-city school run by gangs. With the help of the school’s tough guy security officer, played by Gossett, he ditches the bottle and starts cleaning up the school. It all adds up to a pretty violent, action-packed ending that makes this one of the most bad-ass teacher movies of all time, with it perhaps only bested by The Substitute, which came out a decade later.

Louis Gossett Jr. got himself a nice franchise with this Sidney J. Furie-directed action flick. In it, he plays a retired Air Force colonel who trains a teenager to rescue his father, who’s been shot down over an enemy country. The movie was such a smash that they made three sequels of diminishing quality, all bringing back Furie and Gossett (co-star Jason Gedrick returns for Iron Eagle II but is killed off early). I’d wager only the first one really holds up, although the third one, Aces: Iron Eagle III, is still quite fun.

Diggstown: 

Along with Iron Eagle, Diggstown gave Louis Gossett Jr the rare chance to play a lead. In this one, he plays a retired boxer who’s convinced by a con man buddy of his (a terrific James Woods) to fight in a tough man competition where, in one day, he’s pitted against the ten best fighters in a boxing-obsessed city called Diggstown. Gossett was in his mid-fifties when he did this and delivered one of his most amiable performances, with him and Woods making for a nice pair. Also keep your eyes peeled for a young Heather Graham.

What are your favorite Louis Gossett Jr movies? Would Finders Keepers, The Laughing Policeman, or A Good Man in Africa have made the cut? The Tyler Perry collaboration Daddy’s Little Girls? Maybe one of the television movies he worked on, like The Josephine Baker Story? Let us know in the comments!