'The Last Mercenary' Trailer: Jean-Claude Van Damme Is Back In Fighting Form In Netflix Action Comedy

It's been two years since Jean-Claude Van Damme was last onscreen in an action role, and far longer since he was at the height of his action hero career. But he's back again and raring to go in The Last Mercenary, an action comedy from Netflix that looks to be Van Damme's bid at his own sort of Last Action Hero, allowing the longtime martial arts movie star to poke fun at himself. Watch The Last Mercenary trailer below.

Jean-Claude Van Damme has largely taken himself very, very seriously throughout his career, but it only takes one look at The Last Mercenary trailer, and its scene of Van Damme fighting a bunch of goons in a long wig, to prove that he's ready to let loose. David Charhon directs and co-wrote The Last Mercenary with Ismaël Sy Savané, and the film is action comedy which stars Van Damme as a former French secret service special agent-turned-mercenary who is brought back into the game when his son Archibald's life is threatened by the mob. But rather than a straightforward Taken-style revenge thriller, The Last Mercenary has some fun, throwing Archibald's goofy millennial friends into the mix and putting Van Damme in drag. It's not nearly the same conceit as the fantasy-forward Last Action Hero, but it's good to see Van Damme poking fun at his image.

"The Last Mercenary is an incredibly exciting project and allows me to take on a new genre," Van Damme said in a statement provided during production. "I've always been a fan of Jean-Paul Belmondo and I hope to take up the torch of action comedy in my own way. David Charhon's script brings all these elements together in a very successful way — a beautiful story with emotion, a lot of action and a lot of humor. I'm also very happy to work alongside a new generation of talent such as Alban Ivanov, Assa Sylla, and Samir Decazza."

The Last Mercenary also stars Patrick Timsit, Eric Judor, and Miou-Miou. It's produced by Jean-Charles Levy, Nicolas Manuel, Olivier Albou, Laurence Schonberg, David Charhon, Jakéma Charhon, Eponine Maillet, Olias Barco, and Vlad Riashyn.

Here's the official synopsis:

Richard Brumère, aka "La Brume" ("The Mist"), a former French secret service special agent turned mercenary, is back in the saddle as the immunity he was granted 25 years earlier for his son Archibald is lifted. A mob operation threatens Archibald's life. To save him, Richard will have to reach out to his old contacts, join forces with a bunch of reckless youngsters from the projects and an offbeat bureaucrat – but mostly find the courage to let Archibald know he's his father.

The Last Mercenary will be available to stream on Netflix on July 30, 2021.