Jean-Claude Van Damme’s cult favorite, Universal Soldier, spawned a whole franchise full of retcons and revisions, but here’s how you can watch them in order. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the first Universal Soldier installment was released in 1992. Though it wasn’t a hit on par with Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Timecop, Universal Soldier nonetheless found a pᴀssionate following. As such, it’s one that has remained endlessly rewatchable. Equally, for fans of brutal, bloody action delivered through a science-fiction and even a slight horror lens, it is considered one of the best of the Universal Soldier franchise.

Fresh from such hits as Kickboxer, Universal Soldier saw Van Damme play a different kind of hero in Luc Deveraux. A soldier in the Vietnam War, he is killed when a fellow soldier, Dolph Lundgren’s Andrew Scott, goes on an insane murder spree. Though Luc also takes down his new enemy, both are resurrected by the тιтular government program and imbued with enhanced skills. As a result, gifting fans some of Van Damme’s best fight scenes, both are put on a brutal collision course again. The sequels, however, take a different route.

Universal Soldier Got Two Straight-To-Video Sequels Without Van Damme

The Universal Soldier Franchise Hit A Rough Patch With These Two Installments

Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms was released in 1998. Though it included several of the same characters, it didn’t feature another Jean-Claude and Dolph Lundgren movie collaboration. Instead, former football player turned Emmy-winning producer, Matt Battaglia, took on the role of Luc Deveraux. The rest of the cast, meanwhile, was rounded out by Chandra West, Jeff Wincott, Gary Busey, and even Burt Reynolds. With a thin story involving a group of villainous mercenaries and a long-lost brother, as well as uninspired action, Universal Soldier II was butchered by critics and holds a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business once again saw a distinct lack of Lundgren and Van Damme in the sci-fi genre offering. Instead, the same cast from the previous movie all returned, with the story picking up where it left off. Now fugitives looking to expose the Universal Soldier program, Luc and Veronica are pursued by several universal soldiers, including his brother. Hilariously, Universal Soldier III culminates with the idea of countless sleeper soldiers all across America, even implying that former president, Bill Clinton, is among them. It was similarly panned by critics and audiences alike.

Universal Soldier: The Return Ignores 2 & 3 (And Brings Van Damme Back)

The Muscles From Brussels Makes An Overdue Comeback

Coming H๏τ on the heels of the last two sequels, Universal Soldier: The Return was released in 1999 to a less-than-stellar critical and commercial response. Nonetheless, it marked the start of the Universal Soldier franchise taking some big genre swings. In this case, ignoring the previous sequels, it saw Luc go up against a rogue AI named S.E.T.H., who downloads himself into a host body. Also, with Van Damme and his martial arts moves back as Luc and S.E.T.H. played by Michael Jai White, the action was a marked improvement.

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Universal Soldier: Regeneration Ignores All Sequels

Universal Soldier: Regeneration Takes The Franchise Back To Its Roots

Following the failure of the previous three movies, the Universal Soldier franchise was dormant until 2009. When it returned, amid talk of a Universal Soldier reboot, it did so with a bang, taking the story back to its roots and bringing both Van Damme and Lundgren back into the fold. In doing so, Universal Soldier: Regeneration ignores all sequels, including Return. That meant that there was nary a rogue AI or long-lost brother in sight, and that fans only needed to watch the first movie to follow the plot. That plot saw Van Damme’s Luc recruited to foil a terrorist group and his resurrected nemesis, Lundgren’s Andrew.

Three years later saw the release of Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. It served as a direct sequel to both the first movie and Universal Solder: Regeneration, once again making II, III, and The Return obsolete. This time, however, Scott Adkins took over from Van Damme as the тιтular protagonist. Instead, Van Damme took on a slightly more villainous role alongside Lundgren in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning as he sought to overthrow the U.S. government. Nothing was as it seemed, however, as the movie hauntingly explored the existential complications of cloning and government control through false memories.

As well as that exploration, there was a return to form on the brutal action front. That action, as much a slasher as it was an ’80s throwback, was stunningly realized by the talented Scott Adkins and the ever-skilled Van Damme, among others. As a result, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning garnered the franchise’s best reviews. Large praise also went to seeing Van Damme in a more ambiguous villain role. Unfortunately, it didn’t do as well commercially, but nonetheless concluded the Universal Soldier franchise on a high note, at least until the next belated sequel or reboot.