The creator of Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You will take the reins on a new version of the Van Damme banger.
It’s a sentence that never makes sense no matter how many times I write it, but let’s give it one more shot. Michaela Coel, the acclaimed creator and star of Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You, will write and direct a remake of Bloodsport for arthouse faves A24. That’s A24, the studio that cursed us with the term “elevated horror”. And that’s Bloodsport, the 1988 low budget kickboxing drama that introduced Jean-Claude Van Damme to a waiting world.
But Variety have the story, and they’re generally on the money about such things. They quote Coel as saying, “I have long been in awe of fighters, and astounded by the discipline, intensity and isolation the sport demands of them. I am excited to explore this world, especially so with A24 as my collaborators. LET’S FUCKING GO” So that’s a good sign.
Don’t take my surprise as disapproval; go for it, I say. Coel’s an inspired take because she’s not who’d you expect to be taking the reins on a kicky-punchy drama, and while I can’t imagine what she’s going to make of the material, I can’t wait to see what she does with it.
For those unfamiliar with the original, it was based on a pack of lies by one Frank Dux, but those lies yielded a pretty fantastic little actioner in which the Muscles From Brussels plated a fictional version of Dux who fights in an underground tournament in Hong Kong known as… the Kumite. It’s hugely enjoyable schlock as long as you set your expectations accordingly. We’d say the same for Michaela Coel’s take, but given we don’t know what to expect, it’s a moot point. Hope Bolo Yeung gets a cameo, though.
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