Jean-Claude Van Damme is set to return to martial arts Action in Katana, a Japan-set film about a father forced to confront the yakuza after his daughter is taken. The actor will play a former world champion who has left his violent past behind but must fight again to save her.
According to Deadline, The Veterans is bringing the film to market ahead of the American Film Market. Jeremy Zag, known for developing the Miraculous franchise, wrote the script and will direct.
Production is scheduled to begin in April 2027 and is expected to run for three months, with filming planned in Japan, France and Los Angeles. The cast also includes Armenian MMA fighter Melsik Baghdasaryan and French Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Cyril Benzaquen.
Katana marks a return to the martial arts genre for Van Damme, whose action films include Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Double Impact and Universal Soldier. Zag and the actor had previously planned to work together on What’s My Name?, a project announced in 2022 that did not move forward. Katana is described as an evolution of that collaboration.
Zag said his long-standing interest in karate helped make directing Van Damme a personal ambition. He described Katana as a human story centered on a father entering Japan’s criminal underworld to rescue his daughter.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.