Hailing from Belgium, the famous “Muscles from Brussels” made the move to Hollywood in the mid-1980s.
Once there, Jean-Claude Van Damme came to global prominence with hits such asBloodsportandKickboxer.
The 1990s only saw Van Damme’s star rise even higher.
AlongsideUniversal SoldierandHard Target, Van Damme made fan-favorite cameos in such films asLast Action Heroandthe ever-popular seriesFriends.
That was never more true than when he signed on to star inTimecop.
Still, he didn’t return for theTimecopsequel.
Instead,Timecop 2was written byThe Fast and The Furious' Gary Scott Thompson and directed by Steve Boyum.
And prevent other similar atrocities of the past.
As a result,Timecop 2hadan abundance of decent action, time-bending situations, and moral conundrums.
Jean-Claude as Max Walker holding a hostage in Timecop
Nonetheless, it was missing something without Van Damme and his original Timecop.
The box office success of his earlier projects saw him able to command a hefty payday.
As such, Van Damme likely priced himself out of returning forTimecop 2.
Other factors also help explain his absence.
Though not against straight-to-video projects, he was initially very sequel-averse.
Along withNo Retreat, No Surrender 2andHard Target 2,Van Damme also directly turned downKickboxer 2.
Jean-Claude as Max Walker holding a hostage in Timecop
Jason Scott Lee admittedly made more sense as a lead actor for the film.
TheTimecopseries also drew praise for its case of the week meets serialized storytelling.
It was a format thatmatched such hits of the time asBuffy the Vampire Slayer.
Unfortunately, despite the reviews, it failed to find its audience in the long term.
As a result, only nine of the twelve episodes made it to air before it was canceled.
He could always play a grizzled mentor to a younger generation of TEC agents.
Whether things would have been different with Van Damme’s inclusion is anybody’s guess.
The box office success, however, implied there was a potential audience for Van Damme’s split-wielding version.
In the age of legacy sequels, that could still remain a possibility.
