“Bloodfist” Theatrical Poster
In our late 2014 interview with Don “The Dragon” Wilson, we asked the 11-time World Kickboxing Champion his thoughts on a possible continuation of his popular Bloodfist series. His reply:
“Well, I did recently speak to Roger Corman in his Brentwood offices and he was very upbeat and friendly. We did not discuss another project together but I would LOVE to work with him again. We made 12 films together and he distributed several others produced by other companies. He is my “mentor” and friend, so there could very well be one more Jake Raye film to complete the series.”
Now, 3 years later, Wilson is revisiting the idea, at least according to a recent Tweet: “Thank you Roger Corman for starring me in the Bloodfist series! It was fun and now it’s time for the REBOOT!”
1989’s Bloodfist spawned 7 sequels (only Parts I and II were related) throughout the 90s, all hugely successful, particularly in the straight-to-video market. In 2005, Corman backed a semi-reboot, Bloodfist 2050, which was directed by cult Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago (Future Hunters), but instead starred Matt Mullins, who teamed up with Wilson in the recently released Death Fighter.
The Bloodfist series also had one of the most memorable marketing strategies: The original poster for Bloodfist predominantly advertised the critic quote “Don Wilson would kick Van Damme’s ass in one round!”. It was during this time – at the height of kickboxing genre films made famous by Van Damme’s 1989 film Kickboxer – that Corman was responsible for a publicity stunt that promised to put Wilson and Van Damme in the ring for an actual kickboxing fight.
“I have met Jean-Claude Van Damme and he was very friendly. I’ve enjoyed many of his films and have the utmost respect for him as an action star. However, I do not tolerate anyone who lies about their “kickboxing” background and record. That’s the only problem between us and the fight offer from Corman was just a publicity stunt because it would have been like Tyson fighting Stallone. It’s one thing to “act” like a fighter and a completely different thing to have a trained professional trying to decapitate you in the ring,” said Wilson.
If a Bloodfist sequel, reboot – or whatever – happens, we’ll definitely fill you in. In the meantime, we’ll be seeing Wilson in the forthcoming actioner V-Force, and he’ll soon start pre-production on The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, the sequel to 2015’s The Martial Arts Kid. Stay tuned!
I recently revisited Don Wilson’s effort with Andrew Dice Clay, Whatever it Takes. The movie is very cheesy and tasteless, but I enjoy it as a guilty pleasure, and how the cast treats the material with credence.
Wilson has always been a unique action star. He doesn’t have the “macho badass” persona and comes across as more gentlemanly. He gave the impression that you don’t have to try to be cool to succeed as an action star.
I also like how he broke the tradition of Asian men never getting together with American women, and its a shame people still find the idea of them taboo.
Agree. None of his films were ever groundbreaking, but given some of the context points you mention, they were some of the best renters of the 90s era. Here’s hoping for the return of Jake Raye.
OL his comment about Van Damme comes because I called him out for ripping off Van Damme. Indeed Van Damme reboots Kickboxer and here is The Dragon ripping him off again. It’s starting to get sad as the man is now in his 60s. Meanwhile if he is going to reboot something why not the Ring Of Fire series, I think a Shakespeare take on Kickboxing would be hilarious. I don’t even hate The Dragon, as I enjoyed a few of his flicks, but to call out a man as a fake and then subsequently rip his act off is unintentional hilarity defined in irony.
ANM, have you seen the busted TV pilot “Irresistible Force”? Cynthia Rothrock is in it.