TNA Wrestling announced yesterday its plans to launch a film production company, with its inaugural release, No Holds Barred 2, set for release in late-2012.

“TNA is much more than a wrestling company — it’s a global multimedia entertainment juggernaut,” TNA president Dixie Carter said in a press release.

“The launch of TNA Films is the next giant leap in the evolution of the TNA empire, and what better film to start with than the long-awaited sequel to No Holds Barred?”

Shooting of No Holds Barred is scheduled to begin next month, with both Hulk Hogan and Tom “Tiny” Lister reprising their roles from the original film.

The sequel will reportedly pick up where the 1989 original left off — Zeus (Lister) seeks revenge on Rip (Hogan) by kidnapping Rip’s little sister and selling her into sexual slavery on a mysterious island in the South Pacific. Rip must infiltrate the island’s heavily guarded fortress and survive a gauntlet of challenges to free his sister before battling Zeus inside a six-sided ring.

TNA Films is rumored to be considering a number of scripts for future productions including Suburban Commando: Second Strike, and Mr. Nanny Returns.

Some entertainment industry insiders have criticized TNA for relying too heavily on Hulk Hogan’s star power at the expense of young up-and-coming talent. Dixie Carter has dismissed such criticism, saying “we give fans what they want, and clearly they want Hogan.”

TNA Films is expected to be a strong competitor for WWE Films, which has just finished post-production of its newest release: Muscular Ex-Con With a Heart of Gold Battles Ambiguously Ethnic Bad Guys, starring John Cena.

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