After the success of Bloodsport, Cannon Films offered Van Damme the lead in Delta Force 2, American Ninja 3 or Cyborg, a cyperpunk martial arts movie directed by Albert Pyun.
Van Damme chose Cyborg and stars as Gibson Rickenbacker, a mercenary who battles a group of murderous marauders along the East coast of the United States in an post-apocalyptic future.
The film was a low budget box office success and led to two sequels, neither of which Van Damme appeared in.

Cannon used Van Damme again in Kickboxer (1989), playing a man who fights to avenge his brother who has been paralyzed by a Thai kickboxing champion (Qissi).
It was highly successful, returning over $50 million on a $3-million budget.
The film started the Kickboxer franchise.
Van Damme did not appear in any of the film's four sequels, though he did return as a different character in the reboot series.

Also successful was Death Warrant (1990), the first script credit for David S. Goyer.
In the film, Van Damme plays a police detective going into a prison facility at California as an undercover cop in order to find out who stands behind a mysterious series of murders, and finds himself locked up with his nemesis; Christian Naylor, a psychotic serial killer who calls himself "The Sandman" whom sets out to exact revenge upon him after getting into prison.

He followed it with Lionheart (1990) aka Wrong Bet, where he played a French Legionnaire who deserts his post to return to Los Angeles after his brother is murdered, in order to take care of his wife and child.
After a successful escape he gets involved as a fighter in a street fight gambling ring in order to support them.
Lionheart was directed by Sheldon Lettich who had co-written Bloodsport, and said the film was "the first movie to demonstrate that Van Damme was more than just a flash-in-the-pan "Karate Guy" who would never rise above simplistic low-budget karate movies."
It also featured rear nudity from Van Damme which Lettich says "became a very memorable moment for the ladies in the audience, and for the gay guys as well.
Showing off his butt (clothed or unclothed) almost became a signature trademark of his after that."

In 1991, Double Impact was released.
Directed by Lettich it featured Van Damme in the dual role of Alex and Chad Wagner, estranged twin brothers fighting to avenge the deaths of their parents.
This film reunited him with his former Bloodsport co-star, Bolo Yeung and was very popular.


In 1992, Van Damme starred in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year in the sci-fi action picture Universal Soldier directed by Roland Emmerich for Carolco.
 Van Damme (as Luc Deveraux) Dolph Lundgren (as Sergeant Andrew Scott) and play U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War who are sent to secure a village against North Vietnamese forces.
However they end up shooting each other dead after Devereaux discovers that Scott has gone insane and has resorted to mutilating the villagers and barbarically cutting off their ears, taking an innocent girl and boy hostage.
They are later reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead soldiers and sent on a mission as GR operatives.
At the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, Van Damme and Lundgren were involved in a verbal altercation that almost turned physical when both men pushed each other only to be separated, but it was believed to have only been a publicity stunt.
Universal Soldier opened in theatres on 10 July 1992, a moderate success domestically with $36,299,898 in US ticket sales, but a major blockbuster worldwide, making over $65 million overseas, which earned the film a total of $102 million worldwide, on a $23 million budget.

After making a cameo in Last Action Hero, Van Damme starred in Nowhere To Run (1993) alongside Rosanna Arquette, based in part on a script by Joe Eszterhas.
The film was the first in a three-picture deal between Van Damme and Columbia Pictures and his fee was $3.5 million.
Columbia said the film is "true to his audience and goes beyond his audience."
However it was a box office disappointment but a financia
After the success of Bloodsport, Cannon Films offered Van Damme the lead in Delta Force 2, American Ninja 3 or Cyborg, a cyperpunk martial arts movie directed by Albert Pyun. Van Damme chose Cyborg and stars as Gibson Rickenbacker, a mercenary who battles a group of murderous marauders along the East coast of the United States in an post-apocalyptic future. The film was a low budget box office success and led to two sequels, neither of which Van Damme appeared in.
Cannon used Van Damme again in Kickboxer (1989), playing a man who fights to avenge his brother who has been paralyzed by a Thai kickboxing champion (Qissi). It was highly successful, returning over $50 million on a $3-million budget. The film started the Kickboxer franchise. Van Damme did not appear in any of the film's four sequels, though he did return as a different character in the reboot series.
Also successful was Death Warrant (1990), the first script credit for David S. Goyer. In the film, Van Damme plays a police detective going into a prison facility at California as an undercover cop in order to find out who stands behind a mysterious series of murders, and finds himself locked up with his nemesis; Christian Naylor, a psychotic serial killer who calls himself "The Sandman" whom sets out to exact revenge upon him after getting into prison.
He followed it with Lionheart (1990) aka Wrong Bet, where he played a French Legionnaire who deserts his post to return to Los Angeles after his brother is murdered, in order to take care of his wife and child. After a successful escape he gets involved as a fighter in a street fight gambling ring in order to support them. Lionheart was directed by Sheldon Lettich who had co-written Bloodsport, and said the film was "the first movie to demonstrate that Van Damme was more than just a flash-in-the-pan "Karate Guy" who would never rise above simplistic low-budget karate movies." It also featured rear nudity from Van Damme which Lettich says "became a very memorable moment for the ladies in the audience, and for the gay guys as well. Showing off his butt (clothed or unclothed) almost became a signature trademark of his after that."
In 1991, Double Impact was released. Directed by Lettich it featured Van Damme in the dual role of Alex and Chad Wagner, estranged twin brothers fighting to avenge the deaths of their parents. This film reunited him with his former Bloodsport co-star, Bolo Yeung and was very popular.

In 1992, Van Damme starred in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year in the sci-fi action picture Universal Soldier directed by Roland Emmerich for Carolco.  Van Damme (as Luc Deveraux) Dolph Lundgren (as Sergeant Andrew Scott) and play U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War who are sent to secure a village against North Vietnamese forces. However they end up shooting each other dead after Devereaux discovers that Scott has gone insane and has resorted to mutilating the villagers and barbarically cutting off their ears, taking an innocent girl and boy hostage. They are later reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead soldiers and sent on a mission as GR operatives. At the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, Van Damme and Lundgren were involved in a verbal altercation that almost turned physical when both men pushed each other only to be separated, but it was believed to have only been a publicity stunt. Universal Soldier opened in theatres on 10 July 1992, a moderate success domestically with $36,299,898 in US ticket sales, but a major blockbuster worldwide, making over $65 million overseas, which earned the film a total of $102 million worldwide, on a $23 million budget.
After making a cameo in Last Action Hero, Van Damme starred in Nowhere To Run (1993) alongside Rosanna Arquette, based in part on a script by Joe Eszterhas. The film was the first in a three-picture deal between Van Damme and Columbia Pictures and his fee was $3.5 million. Columbia said the film is "true to his audience and goes beyond his audience." However it was a box office disappointment but a financia
Jean-Claude Van Damme