Kickboxer is an American action film franchise that totals seven films. The first installment revolves around a character named Kurt Sloane, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme. Due to opting out of Kickboxer 2 to do the film Double Impact, the second through fourth installments focus on the character David Sloane, younger brother to Van Damme's character from the original. Redemption: Kickboxer 5 focuses on Matt Reeves, a friend of the Sloan family. After a long hiatus, a sixth entry was eventually made as Kickboxer: Vengeance, which also serves as a reboot to the storyline, with Alain Moussi portraying Kurt Sloane and original actor Van Damme playing his trainer. The seventh entry, titled Kickboxer: Retaliation, serves as a direct sequel to Kickboxer: Vengeance.
DVD box set containing the first five entries
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he did odd jobs and worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Van Damme in 2012
Van Damme at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993
Van Damme in 2007
Van Damme on the set of JCVD in October 2007