“Armageddon” is finally coming in 2026 it looks like!

After 2018’s Kickboxer: Retaliation, the second of the rebooted installment of the original action franchise, there has been many rumors involving the third and final installment. Well, an update was finally released and courtesy of City on Fire, we now both exciting and somewhat sad news as well.

Let’s start with the bad news. After originally cast to have played the main villain, Scott Adkins is no longer going to be a part of the franchise. Back in 2014, he was offered the role of Eric Sloane, Kurt Sloane’s brother whose death becomes the catalyst for the franchise. However, Adkins felt dissatisifed with how Eric was written so he was replaced by Darren Shahlavi, with the film marking his final film role before his unexpected passing in 2015 at the age of 42.

The good news is that Mark Dacascos is still joining in on the new film. Dacascos had wrapped up the original franchise as David Sloane’s friend Matt Reeves (not the filmmaker behind The Batman) in 1995’s Kickboxer 5: The Redemption. It is unclear if Dacascos will play Cesare, but we know he will be in the film.

More good news as co-writer/director Dimitri Logothetis finally has revealed that shooting will finally commence on October 27 and continue to November 21 in Dublin and Wicklow, Ireland with of course Alain Moussi returning as Kurt Sloane.

The plot was revealed like this:

The story follows Kurt Sloane, whose life is turned upside down after an explosion meant to kill him kills his wife and baby. With nothing left to lose and bent on vengeance, he enters the underground fight scene of Malaysia to train. For when he tracks down the man responsible for his tragedy, pain can be his weapon of vengeance. However, the man he is looking for is Master Durand’s twin brother Cesare , a martial arts master who leads a sadistic cult. Kurt is in for the fight of his life.

Now, a few questions come in mind. As mentioned, will Dacascos take the role of Cesare replacing Adkins and more importantly, will we see Jean-Claude Van Damme return as Master Durand, Kurt’s mentor who we last saw was blinded thanks to the actions of Christopher Lambert’s Thomas Moore in Retaliation?

There’s also the rumors of who may be joining in on the action this time around. Speculation reveals that the following names might appear, but for now, take it with a grain (or sack) of salt:

Georges St. Pierre returning as Kavi, who appeared in the first installment, Kickboxer: Vengeance or as a new character. Mike Tyson and Christopher Lambert returning respectively as ally Briggs and underground fight ring leader Thomas Moore. MMA fighters Urijah Faber and Cory Garbrandt, rapper Snoop Dogg, and soccer star Neymar Jr. Soccer star Ronaldinho had appeared in Retaliation.

What is confirmed is that earlier this year, Warner Brothers Home Entertainment won the distribution rights to the new film, which could explain why things are now kicking into gear. So highly likely, we will finally see Kickboxer: Armageddon in 2026, ten years after the release of Kickboxer: Vengeance.

For now, enjoy the original teaser for Armageddon, which gives Kurt a new look, but it looks like he will be sticking to the OG Sloane look.