Other than the involvement of Jean-Claude Van Damme, I know next to nothing about the KICKBOXER franchise; in fact, I didn't even realize it was a franchise until now. There were five films in the original KICKBOXER series, although only the first starred Van Damme, before it was rebooted with KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE in 2016. The reboot brought Van Damme back to the franchise, albeit as a different character, and the upcoming sequel, KICKBOXER: RETALIATION, also features the ass-kicking actor, although the recently released trailer sadly doesn't feature nearly enough of him.
Also starring Alain Moussi (KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE), Christopher Lambert (HIGHLANDER), Mike Tyson (THE HANGOVER), and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Game of Thrones), KICKBOXER: RETALIATION looks like it has all the makings of a guilty pleasure DTV action flick, or, you know, something terrible that you'll pass over in a dollar-store bargin bin. To each their own.
The official synopsis for KICKBOXER: RETALIATION:
One year after finding vengeance for his murdered brother, MMA champion Kurt Sloane finds himself back in Thailand – kidnapped and imprisoned there by a powerful gangster (Christopher Lambert). His only shot at freedom is to win an underground death match against a 400lb killer enhanced with state-of the-art drugs (Game of Thrones’ Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) . To make it out alive, he seeks training unlike anything he’s ever endured, with the help of the legendary Master Durand (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and fellow prisoner Briggs (Mike Tyson).
KICKBOXER: RETALIATION will be released January 26, 2018.