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Characters Luc Deveraux, Andrew Scott, Agent Gorman Production companies Carolco Pictures Inc, Centropolis Entertainment Directors John Hyams, Mic Rodgers, Jeff Woolnough, Roland Emmerich Movies Universal Soldier, Universal Soldier II: Brothers i, Universal Soldier: The Return, Universal Soldier III: Unfinishe, Universal Soldier: Regeneration Cast Jean‑Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Scott Adkins, Andrei Arlovski, Michael Jai White | ||
The Universal Soldier series is a series of science fiction action films. The series began in 1992 with Universal Soldier and as of 2012 comprises six entries, though only three are considered to be canon. The films centered on the character of Luc Deveraux (played first by Jean-Claude Van Damme and then by Matt Battaglia) until Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, which focuses on a new protagonist named John (played by Scott Adkins).
Contents
Films
TV
Overview
The series centers on the characters Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott. Deveraux, portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme in the original films and Matt Battaglia in the TV sequels, is an American soldier killed in the Vietnam War and reanimated in the 1990s as a highly advanced Universal Soldier, or "UniSol" for short. Andrew Scott, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren, is a fellow soldier who suffers a psychotic break before being killed and is reanimated as Deveraux's sadistic nemesis for the majority of the series.
After Universal Soldier was released, Carolco, the production company that backed the film, went bankrupt. In 1995, Carolco sold the rights of the series to Skyvision Entertainment in Toronto. Two TV films, Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business, were released direct-to-video, starring Matt Battaglia as Luc Deveraux and Jeff Wincott as his brother Eric Deveraux. They were produced for Showtime / The Movie Channel as a miniseries meant as a backdoor pilot for a series. Having almost no input whatsoever from the original filmmakers, their canonical status is questionable.
Van Damme eventually returned for the fourth installment, Universal Soldier: The Return, which has since been removed from the series canon. An overwhelming critical and financial failure, The Return contradicted several elements of the previous film's plot by making Luc Deveraux no longer a Universal Soldier, giving him a daughter, and removing female protagonist Veronica Roberts. The subsequent film in the series, Universal Soldier: Regeneration, disregards the events of The Return entirely. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning featured Van Damme and Lundgren in much smaller roles, introducing a new protagonist named John (Scott Adkins) fighting against both Deveraux and Scott. Although no explanation is given for why Deveraux has become a villain, Scott is assumed to be a clone like the one in the previous film. Cloning was added to the story as part of the UniSol program during the second and third installments. Boeing 707-123B reg number N7515A is used in film.
Future
John Hyams, director of Regeneration and Day of Reckoning, has said there may be more films to come, depending on the performance of the sixth installment.
Video game
A Universal Soldier video game was produced by The Code Monkeys and released by Accolade in 1992. The game was a conversion of Turrican II: The Final Fight for the Sega Genesis and Game Boy. Another version was developed later for the SNES, but it was never released.