Jean Claude Van Damme must be rolling over in his grave! What’s Playing claims that for the last four years, Paramount has been trying to figure out how to make a big budget tentpole out of “Timecop 2.0,” loosely based on the original Van Damme film. 1994’s “Timecop,” based on a Dark Horse Comics serial, featured Van Damme as a federal agent investigating a time travel conspiracy involving a corrupt politician (a memorably slimy turn from the late Ron Silver).
With the usual Van Damme high-kicking antics, the Sam Raimi-produced “Timecop” was one of the more beloved JCVD pictures, becoming a $100 million worldwide hit and spawning a short-lived television series and a straight-to-DVD sequel. Now Paramount is considering the project as a major tentpole for a big star, though the number of headliners willing to take on Van Damme’s sloppy seconds isn’t too big. Still, the original picture from director Peter Hyams established a premise that could easily self-sustain through a series of serialized adventures.
The site claims the film, currently in development, would end up on the schedule, “sometime over the next twelve to eighteen months,” and while we have no inside info, we would not be surprised to see Len Wiseman’s “Timecop 3D” (no one knows if this will be 3D, but c’mon) announced for a rushed 2012 release. The report mentions that Van Damme is interested in reprising his role, but that the studio isn’t returning his calls, which is just rude, since it probably robs us of seeing the Muscles From Brussels jump-kicking a velociraptor in the face in 3D.