Universal Soldier – What Happened?

Two action titans throwing down both on screen and seemingly off in front of thousands of reporters; a director now known for tentpole disaster flicks working with a big budget for the first time; Replacing another director who couldn’t make it work; a script that dips its toes into at least four different genres; multiple required shots of Jean Claude Van Damme’s naked body; bullets, bombs, and a whole lotta killin’. This is what happened to Universal Soldier.

If you were a fan of action movies with a darker, sci-fi edge to their storylines in the 80s and 90s, Carolco Pictures was likely behind some of your favorites. By the time Universal Soldier darkened their desks around February of 1990, the company had already been involved with films like First Blood and They Live. This even before Terminator 2 and Total Recall. If you had a dark action flick, Carolco was the place to take it. Universal Soldier wouldn’t fully come to fruition until 1992. Originally, the studio hired Andrew Davis to helm the Christopher Leitch written project. The director had already been responsible for two of Steven Seagal’s best films in Above the Law and Under Siege. When it came to taking larger than life characters and formulating them into semi-believable films? He was the guy for the job. Until he wasn’t. It is said that Davis walked away due to budget concerns and creative differences. A little hard to imagine considering he once managed to keep Steven Seagal’s supersized, ponytailed ego in check. But alas, one man’s FUBAR situation is another man’s dream job. Enter Roland Emmerich.

Emmerich had been working on another messy film for Carolco at the time: A famously never made Ridley Scott sci-fi epic called Isobar. Where Sylvester Stallone would have fought off a genetic monster on a high speed train in the future. Like we said, Carolco had a type. And I miss it dearly. Frequent Emmerich collaborator and future Independence Day writer Dean Devlin was also working on the abandoned project before Carolco decided to scrap it entirely and put the pair on Universal Soldier instead. In the commentary, Emmerich explained that he took the movie to prove that as an up and coming director, he could handle a big movie and its accompanying budget. Devlin and Emmerich were brought on board to a project that had already cast its two leading men in Dolph Lundgren and Jean Claude Van Damme.

Van Damme was quickly becoming a star off the back of his amazing physical prowess in films like Bloodsport and Kickboxer. He also had the rare ability to be both larger than life and the sympathetic underdog simultaneously. A karate fueled mix of the two personas of Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Lundgren had found fame in his role as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV years ago and solidified himself not only as an amazing physical villain, but someone who could chew some massive scenery.

Though at the time Universal Soldier and its $23 million budget would be the biggest production Van Damme had ever worked on, he originally rejected the script. Citing that he thought it was “stupid” and that no one would believe in the half human storyline. After Emmerich and Devlin round-housed the script a few times, Jean Claude came around, praising their work as a “special concept”.

You always wonder with a concept like this how your two lead physical specimen’s were going to react to sharing the screen together. Lundgren had seen Bloodsport and kept hearing of what he called this “tough Belgium” before meeting him in person at the Carolco offices. His first impressions were that he was a smart and clever man. Not only when it came to filmmaking but with his personal image. The two also bonded over the fact that they weren’t fans of the first script they’d received before Emmerich and Roland came along. Both rejecting it.

In regard to how Emmerich and Devlin changed the script? They simply formatted around the actors they already had in tow. Playing up what they would call Jean Claude’s “sweetness” against the contrast of Lundgren’s darkness. Something they had to coax out of him the big guy a bit. But once Lundgren bought in, he went all out. We’d have to agree. Whether it was recency bias from Masters of the Universe or an aversion to appreciating the acting abilities of action stars, Dolph Lundgren has ever been fully appreciated for just how great of a villain he was in the film.

The finally complete script opened up with Lundgren’s Sargeant Scott and JCVD’s Luc Deveraux as human soldiers in Vietnam in 1969. Scott is literally crocheting himself a necklace made up of his victims ears like it’s a goddamn Taylor Swift bracelet swap in Hell. He’s lost his mind, murdering innocent people. When Deveraux attempts to stop him the two end up killing each other. The incident is covered up by the Army and they are cryogenically frozen Demolition Man style before being reanimated for the UniSol Program. Where they bring back the dead with super soldier abilities. They are given a neural serum to keep their memories suppressed like some sort of non-emo Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But Deveraux has a glitch, holding on to some of his memories and overall humanity. Which leads to his old Sargeant hunting him down along with a reporter he’s befriended in the desert.

The role of reporter Veronica Roberts went to the charismatic Ally Walker. Her and Jean Claude had a great relationship on the set which came across in their performance. Specifically in comedic scenes that included having to bathe his naked body down in ice cubes or cut out a tracking system in his calf while he’s bent over (again, naked) in front of her. There’s a ton of underrated comedy here that often ends up with JCVD naked. During the commentary, Emmerich joked about these scenes saying that they were required by law back then to show Jean Claude’s ass in every film. He joked that you would receive a fine if you didn’t but he also praised Jean Claude’s awareness of what his fans wanted and felt compelled to give it to them in a way it incorporated itself naturally in the story. If you’re wondering about semantics, Emmerich has you (and him) covered, saying, “he had like a little sock over it. Like a little thing.” Jesus, Roland take it easy with the word “little”!

Jokes aside, what critics mistook for unintentional comedy, Devlin would explain was actually very intentional. They were trying to make fun of action movies but be one at the same time. Which in my opinion adds an ahead of its time meta Kevin Williamson/Wes Craven element to the film. While there was darkness at times it was, like Scream, in contrast to some of the more comedic moments. For example, you have Dolph Lundgren’s character chewing scenery in a grocery store, delivering a dark monologue and shooting police. While somewhere else, Jean Claude hilariously learns how much he likes to eat while effortlessly kicking the shit out of a bunch of rednecks.

Going back and experiencing Universal Soldier in 4K in the year 2025, you also realize just how much of a visual cinematic achievement it is. From an opening fight scene in Vietnam (Filmed on a golf course in Arizona that also features future UniSol Michael Jai White), to a chase scene featuring large military vehicles across the breathtaking backdrop of the Grand Canyon. Amongst its endless action, the production featured no CGI and only one scene that included the use of a model. A scene that went back and forth between live action shots and a model of two large vehicles plunging from the top of a mountain and exploding in the desert. It’s a gorgeously shot, wide scope film from cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub. Not to mention well-choreographed action scenes from Emmerich and crew, featuring UniSol’s careening face first and down the Hoover dam from 700 feet up. Or building a motel from scratch just to fire over 10,000 rounds of ammunition and drive a classic car through it. All this, bookended by two kickass throwdowns between two of the greatest action heroes to ever grace the silver screen. The latter of which was almost very different. In a bad way.

In the film’s original ending (which can be found on multiple physical media editions), Deveraux dispatches of Scott after he ruthlessly shoots his mother down on the porch. As Deveraux goes to reunite with Veronica, his supposed father shockingly shoots him before Jerry Orbach’s Dr. Gregor shows up with a bunch of dudes in trench coats. Gregor hastily explains that these aren’t actually Deveraux’s parents but merely plants meant to help capture him. His fake father and the henchman then start unloading their guns into him like he’s Michael Myers at the end of Halloween 4. We get a weird, T2 epilogue from Veronica about how Devereaux spent his last two months of life surrounded by his real family, rejecting all medical treatment and teaching her the meaning of life. Depression. Roland recalled the moment during the commentary admitting that everyone was excited, high fiving, and having a great time. Until the ending left them quiet, dismayed, and confused. They hated it. And all of this weirdly depressing Meet Joe Black nonsense was taken out of the film and replaced with an extended fight scene reshoot instead. The reshoots took place inside the barn over the course of a single day’s twenty hour long shoot, flawlessly edited into the original ending.

We still end the fight with Deveraux triple kicking Scott into the hay harvester and dropping, “You’re discharged, Sarge” before watching Scott’s remains fly ears-first out of the grinder. Only in this case, we’re treated first to an extended fight scene where Scott beats Deveraux’s ass all around the barn. Until Deveraux finds some super serum, jacks himself up, and delivers the kind of underdog ass whooping that the best action movies are made of.

The fight scenes were great and so was the relationship between the two leads. Dolph explained that at first there was some tension between the two on the first day because of their competitive natures; but that all dissipated rather quickly as the two spent the next three months beating the hell out of each other on set. Jean Claude would tell the story of how they kept a truck on the set full of training gear and mirrors. The two, along with the other UniSol actors (including Chuck Norris’ son Eric Norris and Gladiator actor Ralf Moeller) would constantly pump up in the truck before scenes. They eventually became afraid that the others arms would look bigger on screen. It even led to the point where they would often skip lunch, opting for a protein shake instead, so they could spend their lunch breaks out pumping each other. JCVD would later use this healthy competition as a marketing ploy when the two actors were at Cannes Film Festival. Ever the self-promoter, Van Damme knew the film was still in post-production and that they had no footage to promote. So, he called up Dolph Lundgren and the two staged a fake dust up in front of hundreds of members of the press at the event, thinking they were witnessing a real life scuffle between two action titans. The two exchanged some words and a few light shoves before they were harmlessly broken up. Mission accomplished. It was all anyone could talk about.

Universal Soldier released in 1992 to a worldwide gross of $95 million on a $23 million budget. That’s no Avatar of course and critics unfortunately weren’t quite capable of understanding its genius. But that didn’t stop it from becoming beloved. Spawning multiple sequels, a comic book series, and even a video game. Those involved with the film many years later seem happy with the result as well. Dolph Lundgren remembers it as a career boost for everyone involved. Writer Dean Devlin sees it as a fun and original film, and even Roland Emmerich, who hates watching his earlier work admits it was better than he thought originally.

Damn straight, Roland. And that is what happened to Universal Soldier.

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