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No this isn’t an April Fool’s Day post as I have no energy and am not in the mood to make fake articles regarding this silly annual event. Last week, I shared the awesome news that the once planned TV series based on the 90’s action franchise The Circuit was being re-edited into a new movie called The Circuit 4: Faith Fighter. The franchise hails from former 90’s DTV action star Jalal Mehi (Tiger Claws, TC 2000) who serves as producer and director. This latest entry stars former 90’s DTV martial arts sensation and Tae Bo guru Billy Blanks in a return to the genre that made him a star. Bolo Yeung’s son and new action star David Yeung also stars in the film which was part of the series. When posted, I was flooded with questions about the rest of the series and whether or not we would see Olivier Gruner’s involvement again as he was a major player in the series as well.
I did my due diligence of course and a big thank you goes out to the Dirk Longstreet Facebook page which is the “official community for producer/director Jalal Merhi’s “The Circuit” movie series” has clarified that the rest of the series has been retooled as well and is set to be released as three more sequels that will feature Gruner’s return as the franchise’s main protagonist and underground fighting champion Dirk Longstreet. The Circuit 5, 6 and 7 will wrap up the series and retool it in the form of feature films for genre fans to enjoy. Check out the promo images below courtesy of the Facebook page!
This does bode well as even though we will not see the series as it was originally planned to be released. we will still see the entire show in the form of movies. The fourth film faith fighter is set to hit sometime this summer so Lock N Load here for future Intel. the other movies are currently in post and will likely hit later this yeat as well as 2025 but we will release all launch dates when we get them.
Check out the first, official image from Gruner’s movies which has him acting alongside action villain icon Patrick Kilpatrick!
The Circuit 4: Faith Fighter deals with Blanks’ subplot of the series where he plays a former champion of The Circuit as well. Blanks, who stars as Samson, is drawn back into the savage, barbaric and unarmed combat world of The Circuit to save a student who has gotten mixed up in the dangerous world of illegal fighting. Check out the official key art and newly released trailer for the fourth entry below!
The Circuit 4 Official Synopsis: An aging retired fighter has to get back to the ring in order to save a young student. Billy Blanks, David (Bolo Jr) Yeung, and Al Sapienza star.
The Circuit series now feature films stars a host of DTV action firepower talent including Eric Roberts, Richard Tyson, Art Camacho, and Patrick Kilpatrick. Martial artist, actor, filmmaker and former 90’s DTV action star Jalal Merhi, who helmed all three previous entries, is back in the director’s chair once again and Merhi definitely knows what the fans want to see.
I’ve been defending this series now feature films as many have argued that it looks cheap and low budget (like that’s a bad thing). Clearly, these are not fans of that era as this is a stellar and legit throwback to all those great bad ass DTV martial arts actioners that hit video stores in force back in the day. Being low budget, or independent as I like to call them, is part of the charm and these titles never skimp on the action or showcasing the strengths of the stars involved like Blanks and Gruner. You’ll definitely get your beatdown fix with The Circuit!
Lock N Load right here and follow the Dirk Longstreet Facebook page for all the new Intel on the upcoming Circuit movies. Center the Ring!!!!
