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 as Bloodsport and Kickboxer.
The 1990s only saw Van Damme’s star rise even higher. Alongside Universal Soldier and Hard Target, Van Damme made fan-favorite cameos in such films as Last Action Hero and the ever-popular series Friends. Though there were some missteps, such as the campy 1994 adaptation of Street Fighter, Van Damme nonetheless left an indelible mark on the decade. That was never more true than when he signed on to star in Timecop. Despite receiving middling reviews, Timecop grossed over $100 million at the box office and remains Van Damme’s biggest hit to date. Still, he didn’t return for the Timecop sequel.
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 Decision was released. Unlike Van Damme’s version, it had no input from Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden, the creators of the comic book which served as inspiration. Instead, Timecop 2 was written by The 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 in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.
Set 21 years after Van Damme’s adventure, Timecop 2 saw Lee take on the role of TEC agent Ryan Chang. Charged with protecting the timeline, he clashes with Cobra 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 2 had an 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 the Timecop sequel, 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 for Timecop 2. Having mellowed and embraced a tongue-in-cheek, meta sense of humor in the decades since, however, there’s a chance Van Damme could return for a Timecop legacy 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 with No Retreat, No Surrender 2 and Hard Target 2, Van Damme also directly turned down Kickboxer 2. With that in mind, it would have been surprising for Van Damme to take the lead role in Timecop’s lower-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
The Timecop TV 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 like Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ‘s Bruce Campbell. The Timecop series also drew praise for its case of the week meets serialized storytelling. It was a format that matched such hits of the time as Buffy 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, Timecop had 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 as Looper. 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 scene days appear to be behind him, he could always play a grizzled mentor to a younger generation of TEC agents. Whatever the case, Timecop will no doubt remain a cult favorite, with its central concepts coming across as imaginative and interesting even today.
