First look at Scott Adkins’ ‘Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear’

THE MOVIE: Scott Adkins returns as Casey Bowman, a Ninjitsu master out to avenge the death of his wife in director Isaac Florentine’s follow-up to his 2009 film Ninja.

Following the On Demand success of Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, it’s safe to expect that Scott Adkins’ star will continue to rise. The martial artist/actor already has a supporting turn in Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming Zero Dark Thirty, as well as numerous projects lined up for the future. In the past, Adkins revealed via Twitter that – ironically enough – the movie that his fans most want to see made, Undisputed IV, has been the most difficult to find financing for.

The producers behind 2009′s Ninja have always been eager to develop a sequel, despite the fact that the movie is not particularly well-regarded among martial arts buffs. For example: the film maintains a not-so-impressive 5.3/10 rating on IMDB in comparison to Undisputed III‘s healthy 7.3 rating.

Update: Via an interview with AICN, Scott Adkins reveals that Kane Kosugi, son of the legendary 80′s ‘ninja’ star Sho Kosugi, is likely to have a role in Ninja 2. You’ll recall that Kane starred in many of his father’s films as a young boy, but now he’s all grown up and kicking ass in movies like Blood Heat and Coweb.

Twitch offers this new poster and word that Kane Kosugi is officially playing the bad guy in Ninja 2. | Via Martial Arts Movie Junkie, the word is that Ninja 2 has wrapped its grueling 40 day shoot in Thailand. It’s mission accomplished for director Isaac Florentine and stars Scott Adkins and Kane Kosugi, so now the film heads into post-production. | Scott Adkins and Kane Kosugi posing for a Ninja 2 photo op, courtesy of M.A.A.C.