Jean-Claude Van Damme To Retire From Action Movies With Final Film, What's My Name?

Action movie legend Jean-Claude Van Damme will make one last action movie before retiring from the genre. Deadline reports that Van Damme will star in What's My Name? Jeremy Zag is directing the film, which blurs the line between fiction and Van Damme's personal life, similar to Van Damme's 2008 movie JCVD and 2016 television series Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Van Damme plays himself in the film as he wakes up from a coma after a car crash and finds he has amnesia. To regain his identity, he'll have to progress through a series of fights against iconic opponents from his film career, leading to one epic last battle. 

"I wanted to leave the stage but with a revisit of my career, starting with Bloodsport, the one where I started to become famous," Van Damme tells Deadline. "I want this to be a new Bloodsport but on a higher level. In the film, I am on my way down in terms of career, and as I come out of a premiere of another action movie, I am not happy because I've been living in hotels the past 30 years, which is actually true. We're going to bring real elements from my real life and what happened to me. I came from Belgium, all the way to Hollywood. I succeeded, I failed, I came back. So I'm walking out on the street after the premiere, and boom! — a car hits me because I'm drunk. When I wake up from the impact, I don't know what's my name, and no one recognizes me."

The report does not confirm any other stars who will appear in the movie. However, likely candidates include Universal Soldier's Dolph Lundgren, Kickboxer's Michel Qissi, and Double Impact's Bolo Yeung.

"He's trapped in this catch-22 where his heart is his only guide and that road will lead him through a journey that includes a lot of fights, in what will be a real action mainstream movie where we treat JC as a real human superhero," Zag says. "I grew up watching JC and want new audiences to do the same thing, and when he stands against Tong Po, he'll begin to flashback in his mind, and we will reproduce some of the best fights from some of his biggest movies."

Van Damme adds, "We are getting all of the iconic people I fought and have most of them come back. All of the UFC fighters grew up watching my movies, and we will have some of those great champions as fighters, and some as managers like Randy Couture. We'll have a great mix and the fights will have a real feel to them."

Nick Vallelonga and Paul Sloan wrote the script based on Van Damme's story idea. Van Damme also produces alongside Zam, with Tyler Thompson producing for Cross Creek, the studio financing the film. Wild Bunch International is in charge of foreign sales, while CAA Media Finance deals with domestic distribution.