FILM · 1991
Double Impact
13 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
13 Interesting Facts About Double Impact
Interesting Facts (9)
- #001
Because of the strong friendship that developed between two actors on the set of Bloodsport (1988), Jean-Claude Van Damme wanted no one other than Bolo Yeung to play the main villain in this film.
- #002
In 2010, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bolo Yeung were giving a martial arts demonstration, and Van Damme said he hoped that he and Yeung would one day create a project together, "Double Impact 2," and that Yeung might perhaps play a friend rather than any kind of enemy. In a 2012 interview promoting The Expendables 2 (2012), Van Damme stated in a more serious tone that he wanted to make another Double Impact film. During the interview he also gave a rough idea of the plot: "One of the two twins returns from Asia to Los Angeles to help his brother, who is a con man posing as a big Hollywood producer, and he's in trouble with the mafia." A Double Impact 2 screenplay was written by Van Damme and Sheldon Lettich (co-writer of Bloodsport and Double Impact). Van Damme said, "I hope somebody smart enough, like an agent or a producer, can put it together again… I'm excited about it, you know?"
- #003
Double Impact is the first of four films in which Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a dual role. The other three are Maximum Risk (1996, again playing twins), The Order and Replicant (both 2001).
- #004
Michael Douglas was a producer on the film but did not want to be credited because he did not want to be directly associated with a mainstream action film.
- #005
After the success of "Double Impact," Moshe Diament and Van Damme went on to work together on 14 more films over 20 years. Jean-Claude Van Damme eventually became a superstar.
- #006
The film contains many similarities to the Double Dragon video game series, including the concept of martial artist twin brothers and the archetypes of several lesser villains, such as Bolo Yeung's "Moon" (complete with lifting and throwing oil drums) as a stand-in for Abobo and Roper, and Corey Everson's Kara (despite her using a knife instead of a whip) as a stand-in for Linda.
- #007
Airing on the French channel M6 in January 1996, the film drew the largest audience that evening even though every channel was talking about the death of François Mitterand. François Mitterand was a former president of France.
- #008
In France, the film was released in theaters on 31 July 1991, nine days before its American premiere date.
- #009
In the final fight scene between Moon and Alex, the moment when Moon lifts Alex and rips his shirt appears to have been done with a stunt double for Bolo Yeung and possibly in post-production; Moon is in frame only in the first of two shots and only from behind, where his body is smaller than Bolo Yeung's. When he inexplicably rips Alex's shirt open, the shot is carefully framed to prevent anything other than Moon's arm from being seen, clearly concealing the fact that Bolo was not there and that a stunt double was used to do it.
Production Story (1)
- #010
With a budget of $15,000,000, this was Van Damme's highest-budget film at the time of its release. It was picked up for distribution by Columbia Pictures and released in theaters in many territories, while Vision International handled international sales.
Behind the Scenes (1)
- #011
Screenwriter Boaz Yakin stayed on set for a month during the Hong Kong shoot, helping with rewrites and contributing to several of the film's memorable lines of dialogue.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #012
Sheldon Lettich's first choice for Alex's girlfriend Danielle was Tia Carrere. He thought that a man like Alex, who had spent most of his life in Hong Kong, would have an Asian girlfriend. "We actually brought Tia in and did a screen test with Jean-Claude and she was magnificent. So was Alonna Shaw, who ultimately got the role entirely at Jean-Claude's insistence. We had some problems with Alonna later on because, even though I had warned her well in advance that the role would require a bit of nudity, she didn't want to do a nude scene. In fact, producer Moshe Diamant made quite a fuss about it. Lettich told her plainly that she would either do the scene as written in the script or be sent home immediately and replaced. Fortunately she agreed, and that scene became a favorite of teenage boys all over the world," Lettich said.
- #013
Corinna Everson was trained for her role by martial artist and actor Billy Blanks.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work