Can anyone explain or theorize why exactly American Ninja 2 and 4 are both filmed in South Africa? Is there a ninja relationship with this country? I know the director of 4 is from there....but I can't explain why 2 is...
shareThe third one was also.
Yes, Cedric Sundstrom is from South Africa originally. I think Cannon just chose to film there because it provided a tropical setting but was probably cheaper to shoot in that an actual tropical island (I know they shot all their Vietnam-set movies in the Philippines because that's also a cheap place that can double for Vietnam, as opposed to Thailand, which the major movies studios use)...and we all know Cannon was all about saving bucks!
I think Sundstrom's hiring for the third and fourth movies was a byproduct of already having the location chosen in South Africa- not the other way around. Either way, he's a horrible director and he somewhat ruined a good franchise.
There was even a 1992 cash-in movie which was filmed in South Africa. It's called Lethal Ninja.
share