Jean-Claude Van Damme’s ‘Darkness of Mans’ Sells to Saban Films (EXCLUSIVE)

Saban Films has acquired the U.S., U.K. and other international rights to Jean-Claude Van Damme action-spy thriller “Darkness of Man.”

Directed by James Cullen Bressack, the film sees Van Damme playing Interpol operative Russell Hatch, who witnesses the death of his last informant in a routine raid gone wrong. Years later, he takes on a father figure role to the son of the informant, and finds himself protecting the boy from a group of merciless gangs in an all-out turf war.

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Alongside the U.S. and U.K., Saban Films has picked up Australian/New Zealand, African, Spanish and Scandinavian territory rights to the film, which also stars Kristanna Loken (“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”), Peter Jae (“Blackhat”), Spencer Breslin (“The Kid”), Emerson Min (“Black-ish”) and rapper Sticky Fingaz.

The film is written by Alethea Cho and Cullen Bressack and based on an original story by Cullen Bressack and Van Damme.

Worldwide sales were represented by J.D. Beaufils and Julie Paquit of VMI Worldwide and negotiated by Steve Break for Saban Films. In addition, VMI closed territory sales with Phoenicia Pictures Intl. (Turkey and Middle East), Program Store (France), Global Media Distribution (Latin America), Plaion (Germany and Italy) and SPI Intl. (CIS, EE, Benelux).

“Darkness of Man” is produced by Cullen Bressack, Jarrett Furst, Andre Relis and Jessica Bennett. Executive producers include Van Damme, Beaufils, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Grady Craig, Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Ameer Fawaz and James V. Bulian.

Saban Films recently acquired Jon Keeyes’ “The Clean Up Crew,” starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Melissa Leo and Antonio Banderas; “The Last Girl,” starring Alice Eve, Shelley Hennig and Banderas; Pierre Morel’s “The Ambush,” the highest-grossing Arabic-language film ever in the UAE; and Ana Lily Amirpour’s “Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon,” starring Kate Hudson and Jun Jong-Seo.

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