Jean-Claude Van Damme is heading back into martial arts action with Katana, a Japan-set Yakuza movie from writer-director Jeremy Zag.
The Veterans is launching the project for international sales ahead of the AFM, where buyers will have access to a screenplay and sizzle reel. CAA Media Finance is representing the film’s U.S. rights.
Van Damme will play a former world champion fighter and father who has walked away from a troubled past. He is pulled back into combat after his daughter is taken by the yakuza in Japan.
The role returns Van Damme to the kind of martial arts storytelling associated with his hits Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Double Impact. He will be joined on screen by martial arts champions including Armenian MMA fighter Melsik Baghdasaryan and French Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Cyril Benzaquen.
A Long-Planned Van Damme Collaboration
Zag and Van Damme have been working toward making a movie together for several years. Their collaboration was previously announced in 2022 around a project titled What’s My Name?, which now appears to have evolved into Katana.
Zag, a longtime karate practitioner, has scripted the new film and will direct it. He described working with Van Damme as the fulfillment of an ambition rooted in his own martial arts experience.
“Jean-Claude Van Damme made me want to walk into a dojo,” Zag said. “After thirty years of practicing Kyokushin karate at an elite level, directing him in Katana is a lifelong dream come true.”
The filmmaker said he wants to combine “the power of Bloodsport, the urgency of Taken and the energy of John Wick” within a personal story about a father entering Japan’s criminal underworld to rescue his daughter.
“His experience is his strength,” Zag added. “I want audiences to feel every impact, every breath, and the love that keeps him fighting.”
Zag is best known for creating the Miraculous franchise, which spans an animated television series and film. Netflix acquired the movie installment in a major agreement thought to be among the largest ever for a European animation.
For Katana, Zag is moving into a different kind of story while carrying over a creative interest in Japan that he said helped shape Miraculous.
“My passion for Japanese anime helped inspire Miraculous,” he said. “With Katana, I’m bringing that passion into a different universe, drawing on Japan’s extraordinary beauty, darkness and martial traditions to create a spectacular adventure for a worldwide audience.”
Zag said the samurai code of honor, along with the visual force and intensity of katana combat, will be central to his approach.
Real Fighters Join the Cast
The filmmaker is also emphasizing the involvement of experienced martial artists. Beyond the announced casting of Baghdasaryan and Benzaquen, Zag said the plan is to assemble fighters and champions from around the world, including men and women from different generations.
According to Zag, Van Damme had resisted returning to this kind of martial arts movie for years. The director said their shared experience as martial artists helped build the trust behind the project.
“Together, we want to make one last great martial arts film: a celebration of everything we love about this cinema, and a tribute to an icon who inspired us all,” Zag said.
Katana is being produced by Division Z in partnership with Japan-based Wowow Bridge, an organization that supports international productions shooting in Japan. Wowow Bridge’s credits include the HBO Max series Tokyo Vice.
ShowBiz Take
Katana is significant because it places Van Damme firmly back at the center of a martial arts-driven story while surrounding him with active combat-sports champions. The project is not simply borrowing martial arts imagery: its announced cast, Zag’s three decades of Kyokushin karate practice and the planned filming in Japan all point to martial arts as a defining part of the production.
The movie also brings a long-developing partnership into clearer focus. After the earlier What’s My Name? collaboration, Van Damme and Zag now have a defined story, sales representatives and a scheduled production window for Katana.
What Happens Next?
The Veterans will present the film to international buyers with its screenplay and sizzle reel ahead of the AFM, while CAA Media Finance handles U.S. rights.
Filming is scheduled to take place across April, May and June 2027, with production planned in Japan, France and LA.