Universal Soldier (series)

Luc Deveraux, the main character of the Universal Soldier series.

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 around the character of Luc Deveraux (played by Jean-Claude Van Damme and Matt Battaglia respectively until Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, which focuses on a new protagonist named John (played by Scott Adkins).

Films

The six entries in the series are:

• Universal Soldier (1992), directed by Roland Emmerich
• Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998), directed by Jeff Woolnough
• Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business (1998), also directed by Woolnough
• Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), directed by Mic Rodgers
• Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009), directed by John Hyams
• Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012), also directed by Hyams

Overview

The series most recurring stars are Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Van Damme plays Luc Deveraux, a soldier killed in the Vietnam War and reanimated in the 1990s as a highly advanced Universal Soldier, or "UniSol" for short. Lundgren plays Andrew Scott, also a Vietnam soldier, who suffers a psychotic break before being killed and is reanimated as Deveraux's sadistic nemesis for the majority of the series.

Scott Adkins was the lead actor in the latest entry 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.^[1] 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. They were produced for Showtime / The Movie Channel as a miniseries meant as a backdoor pilot for a series.

Van Damme eventually returned for the fourth installment, Universal Soldier: The Return, which has since been removed from the series canon. This is because Luc Deveraux is no longer a Universal Soldier, has a daughter, and his female counterpart has since passed away. The Return was an overwhelming critical and financial failure.^[2][3] The subsequent film in the series, Universal Soldier: Regeneration, disregards the events of The Return entirely.^[4] 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 with no explanation for why Deveraux has become a villain, but Scott we can assume is another 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.

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.^[5][6]

Characters

Reception

Box office performance

Critical reception

Video game

A Universal Soldier video game was produced by The Code Monkeys and released by Accolade in 1992.^[16] 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.^[17][18]

See also

References