Jean-Claude Van Damme has had a long and storied career, but the follow-up projects to his biggest hit,Timecop, went ahead without him. Hailing from Belgium, the famous “Muscles from Brussels” made the move to Hollywood in the mid-1980s. Once there, Jean-Claude Van Damme came to global prominence with hits such asBloodsportandKickboxer.
The 1990s only saw Van Damme’s star rise even higher. AlongsideUniversal SoldierandHard Target, Van Damme made fan-favorite cameos in such films asLast Action Heroandthe ever-popular seriesFriends. Though there were some missteps, such asthe campy 1994 adaptation ofStreet Fighter, Van Damme nonetheless left an indelible mark on the decade. That was never more true than when he signed on to star inTimecop. Despite receiving middling reviews,Timecopgrossed over $100 million at the box officeand remains Van Damme’s biggest hit to date. Still, he didn’t return for theTimecopsequel.
Timecop Got A Straight-To-Video Sequel In 2003 (Without Van Damme)
Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision Told A Completely Unrelated Story
Almost ten years after the original,Timecop 2: The Berlin Decisionwas released. Unlike Van Damme’s version, it hadno input from Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden, the creators of the comic bookwhich served as inspiration. Instead,Timecop 2was written byThe Fast and The Furious' Gary Scott Thompson and directed by Steve Boyum. The film replaced Van Damme with a new character, played by Jason Scott Lee, known for playing Bruce Lee inDragon: The Bruce Lee Story.
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Set 21 years after Van Damme’s adventure,Timecop 2saw Lee take on the role of TEC agent Ryan Chang. Charged with protecting the timeline, he clashes withCobra Kai’s Terry Silver actor Thomas Ian Griffith, when the latter decides it’s his responsibility to kill Adolf Hitler. And prevent other similar atrocities of the past. As a result,Timecop 2hadan abundance of decent action, time-bending situations, and moral conundrums. Nonetheless, it was missing something without Van Damme and his original Timecop.
Why Jean-Claude Van Damme Didn’t Return For Timecop 2
There Were Many Reasons Why Van Damme Didn’t Reprise His Max Walker Role
As for the reasons why Van Damme didn’t reprise Max Walker for theTimecopsequel, there have been several reports. The box office success of his earlier projects saw him able to command a hefty payday. As such, Van Damme likely priced himself out of returning forTimecop 2. Having mellowed and embraced a tongue-in-cheek, meta sense of humor in the decades since, however, there’s a chanceVan Damme could return for aTimecoplegacy sequel, though it’s hard to say if an opportunity would ever arise, or if Van Damme would have any interest in such a project.
Other factors also help explain his absence. Though not against straight-to-video projects, he was initially very sequel-averse. Along withNo Retreat, No Surrender 2andHard Target 2,Van Damme also directly turned downKickboxer 2. With that in mind, it would have been surprising for Van Damme to take the lead role inTimecop’slower-budget sequel. Jason Scott Lee admittedly made more sense as a lead actor for the film.
Timecop 2 Is Not The Only Sequel To Timecop
Timecop Almost Inspired An Entire Multimedia Franchise
TheTimecopTV show debuted on ABC in 1997. Despite apprehensions, it actually received solid reviews from critics for its exploration of different periods, inclusion of such infamous figures as Al Capone, and guest-stars likeEvil Dead’s Bruce Campbell. TheTimecopseries also drew praise for its case of the week meets serialized storytelling. It was a format thatmatched such hits of the time asBuffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately, despite the reviews, it failed to find its audience in the long term. As a result, only nine of the twelve episodes made it to air before it was canceled.
He could always play a grizzled mentor to a younger generation of TEC agents.
Between the show,Timecop 2, and a little-remembered SNES video game,Timecophad the chance to be a full, multimedia franchise.But ultimately, it wasn’t to be, with only the original lingering in most people’s minds. Whether things would have been different with Van Damme’s inclusion is anybody’s guess. The box office success, however, implied there was a potential audience for Van Damme’s split-wielding version.
Regardless,talk of a reboot emerged in 2014, fresh on the heels of such time-travel hits asLooper.Ultimately, however, nothing came of it in the decade since. In the age of legacy sequels, that could still remain a possibility. Though, at 64,Jean-Claude Van Damme’s fight scenedays appear to be behind him, he could always play a grizzled mentor to a younger generation of TEC agents. Whatever the case,Timecopwill no doubt remain a cult favorite, with its central concepts coming across as imaginative and interesting even today.
Timecop
Cast
Timecop is a science fiction action film featuring an officer from a time travel regulatory security agency. He faces a treacherous pursuit by a corrupt politician with connections to his past, amidst a backdrop of temporal manipulation and intrigue.
