Gymkata 2 Confirmed; Kurt Thomas to Reprise Role.

Click on the poster to see the full size.

It's been 26 years in the making, but it looks like Gymkata 2 is finally becoming a reality. Green People Soup sat down with the writer, director, and star, Kurt Thomas, to find out what kind of shape the project is taking, and when filmgoers can expect to see his ass-kicking routine hit theaters. More after the jump.

"Well, first of all," Thomas said, "you'll notice that the poster hasn't changed much. When I sat down to write the script to the sequel, I realized what the fans really wanted. More of the same, right? I didn't want to bog the picture down with a lot of back-story or melodrama, so I kept it simple and sweet. There's me, split-kicking two ninjas in the face. So I'll be doing more of that."

The original film garnered a lot of attention for its use of a real, physical presence in its lead actor. Thomas still remembers the scene where he did a hand-stand all the way up a flight of stairs.

Cinematography at its finest.

"When I close my eyes, it's like it was just yesterday. I had on my little blue shorts, and the camera was pointed straight down at me as I was spreading my legs. I tell you, I almost fell on my face a few times, but my balance, and also my awareness of the camera angle kept me going. I didn't really want to do too many takes."

Speaking of ass-kicking attire, when asked to describe his wardrobe this time around, Thomas was quick to point out that "The red sweater-vest will definitely make an appearance. I mean, what is Superman without his red and blue spandex and cape?"

All-American, and looking good while...doing it?

One improvement Thomas really wanted to assure us of was that the love scenes will pack more heat this time around. "I wasn't really happy with the way they turned out last time. I mean, I had the princess as my lead interest, but things just didn't quite work out the way I had hoped."

 The princess was occupied.

That's all well and good, but what about the plot? Thomas was a bit more coy when pressed about it, but a few tid-bits surfaced. "OK, so the original film was all about infiltrating a foreign country using martial arts and gymnastics to procure prime Star Wars satellite real estate. It worked out great, in all honesty. For the sequel, I wanted to make it more relevant, so I decided to go with defending the home turf."

"It's been almost 30 years, so my character's life has gone on. He has his own gymnastics training center and everything. He teaches kids the values he was taught as a youth. But with the global threat of terrorism looming in the background, the government once again turns to him to defend the homeland. That's where he picks up his martial arts training, and things go from there."

One can only hope his training has progressed a bit further.

One thing is for certain: Thomas has a lot of history to grapple with. I can only imagine how he'll make use of a randomly placed pommel horse in the middle of a run-down village full of criminally insane, social outcasts. Perhaps time will tell, and I, for one, am ready to suspend my disbelief and experience some good, old fashioned Gymkata-ing. I think we're finally ready as a country to return to the glory days.

This goes on for about 2 more minutes. You'll have to buy the DVD to see it in its full glory.