Universal Soldier: The Return
Short description
Luc Deveraux, a former cybernetic warrior, works as a technical expert for a government project developing a more advanced generation of combat cyborgs. The situation turns critical when SETH, the supercomputer controlling these soldiers, gains autonomy and rebels against its creators. SETH acquires an invulnerable body and leads an army of perfect killers against humanity, leaving Deveraux as the only person capable of stopping the machine.
Directed by Mic Rodgers, this action and science fiction film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Luc Deveraux, alongside Kiana Tom, Bill Goldberg, and Michael Jai White. Produced by Craig Baumgarten, Daniel Melnick, and Van Damme, the movie was a production of TriStar Pictures and other companies. With a budget of 34 million USD, the film earned 11 million USD at the worldwide box office.
Audience reception is mixed, with a rating of 4.2/10 based on 32,000 votes on IMDb and 5.9/10 from 1,373 votes on TMDB. These scores are generally higher than the rating from film critics, who gave the movie a 3/10 based on 58 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the first film, Michael Jai White plays one of the soldiers, and in this film he already plays (as a body) and voices a supercomputer nicknamed C.E.T.
- This is the first film about Universal Soldiers not to feature Dolph Lundgren, although he appeared in the following two installments.
- Mick Rogers himself made a cameo appearance. He played the role of a biker.
- Some of the underground scenes were filmed in Texas, in tunnels built for the "SSC" (Superconducting Super Collider) project, which was shut down by a decision of the US Congress in 1993.
- Paul Verhoeven, Roland Emmerich (who directed the first film in the franchise in 1992), Jan de Bont, and Michael Bay were all considered as directors for the film at one time or another, but they all preferred to work on other projects.
- The special effects were created by the company “KNB”.
- Ellie Walker did not return to the franchise to reprise her role as Veronica due to her commitment to filming the series "Profiler" (1996-2000).
- The role of Romeo was originally intended for wrestling star Steve Austin, with a fee of $55,000. Austin's agent rejected the offer without even informing Austin himself. The role was eventually offered to wrestler Bill Goldberg for a fee of $250,000. When Austin found out, he expressed his indignation to promoter Vince McMahon over the fact that he hadn't been informed about the opportunity to star in the film.
- The film marked Mika Rogers' directorial debut.
- The film features the song “Crush 'Em” by the band “Megadeth,” to which wrestler Bill Goldberg always enters the ring. Jean-Claude Van Damme also starred in the music video for this song.
- The film was a box office failure and did not impress critics, so all subsequent films in the franchise either ignore the events of the film or outright contradict them. Formally, the film remains part of the franchise, but is not considered canonical.
- Kiana Tom initially worked as a coach for several actors involved in the film, but she was soon offered a role herself and played Maggie.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
