For Boyka’s return to the ring in Undisputed 5, Michael Jai White should also be brought back as George “Iceman” Chambers. The Undisputed martial arts movie franchise first got rolling in 2002, but didn’t really get underway in its current form until the straight-to-video follow-up Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing, in which Michael Jai White took over the role of Chambers from Ving Rhames in the first film. Scott Adkins also debuted as the Yuri Boyka, the self-proclaimed “Most Complete Fighter in the World” who would go onto to become the star of the series with the subsequent entries, Undisputed 3: Redemptionand Boyka: Undisputed.
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While Adkins’ Boyka has effectively become the main character of the Undisputed series, White’s Chambers is no less of a crucial pillar to the franchise. Beginning as the villain of Undisputed with Rhames’ portrayal, Chambers returned in Undisputed 2 with much the same attitude of bullying aggression and insufferable behavior. With Adkins’ Boyka as a driven and determined (if overzealous) fighter viewers got behind — despite him originally being a villain in the Undisputed series — as Chambers, White pulled off the rare feat of making viewers actively root for the protagonist’s downfall.
Both Chambers and Boyka had let their victories in the ring go to their heads, and Chambers’ experience of wrongful imprisonment in order to set up his fight with Boyka brought him down to Earth in realizing how much he had to adapt to a much more versatile opponent. Boyka, in turn, learned the most painful way possible that despite his undeniable formidability, he was not the invincible ruler of the ring he thought he was. In a skewed way, even as they were at each other’s throats, Boyka and Chambers learned a lot from each other, but with only Boyka’s subsequent story having been shown (with Scott Adkins’ character essentially saving the Undisputed franchise), viewers are left wondering Chambers’ fate. The best way to rectify this would be for Chambers and Boyka to cross paths again in Undisputed 5.
Admittedly, the logistics of their pairing would be a bit challenging, since Boyka is now back in prison at the end of Boyka: Undisputed. Whether by an unexpected early release or a second chance at escape, Boyka could emerge a very different man from the one Chambers knew. Chambers would also be a changed man himself, and probably after continuing his MMA training after Undisputed 2, could even be a radically different fighter than in his two matches with Boyka. Undisputed 5 would have the potential to show Chambers as an MMA fighter who could match Boyka’s every technique, along with an even more unexpected prospect — specifically, that through the new challenge they’d be confronted with, the two former enemies could actually be forced to join forces and fight side-by-side.
Outside of simply continuing through Undisputed 5, there’s also been talk of the franchise transitioning to a Boyka-led Undisputed TV series. Chambers’ return in that format could even take the form of episodes alternating between where Boyka and Chambers currently are before building back up to their unexpected meeting years later. Whether the Undisputed franchise is to continue in an episodic approach or by just jumping into Undisputed 5, George “Iceman” Chambers is due for a return, and after his last match with Boyka, the possibilities are endless for the kind of fighter, enemy, or ally he could return as now.