Variety reports that Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish) will star alongside Jason Statham in The Beekeeper 2. The first film was a surprise hit, and Amazon MGM Studios wasted little time getting the ball rolling on a sequel.
Production on The Beekeeper 2 is expected to kick off this fall. Statham will return as Adam Clay, “a retired clandestine human intelligence operative who sets out for revenge after his kind-hearted landlady becomes the victim of a phishing scam that steals millions of dollars from a charity she runs.” Jeremy Irons will also return as Wallace Westwyld, the former CIA Director, now head of security for Danforth Enterprises. Shahidi’s role is being kept under wraps at this time.
David Ayer directed the first film, but Timo Tjahjanto, who recently directed Nobody 2, will helm the sequel. Kurt Wimmer has returned to pen the script.
Tjahjanto recently said he was drawn to The Beekeeper sequel because the character resembles one of his favourite Marvel characters: The Punisher. “I’m definitely drawn to the Beekeeper series just because when I watched it, I always felt that, ‘Wow, this is essentially Statham playing one of my favorite characters in the Marvel universe,’ which is The Punisher,” he said. “If I can’t make The Punisher film, if the gods of film aren’t allowing me to do a Punisher film yet, then I’ll turn Adam Clay into my own version of The Punisher. Which is great! I think Statham has that quality in him. He has that very stoic Frank Castle-esque quality to him. And I love that Adam Clay is definitely a guy who is quite colorful in his choice of violence. He gets really, really creative with his violence.“
As mentioned above, The Beekeeper was a surprise hit upon its release last year, grossing over $162.6 million worldwide. Even our own Chris Bumbray, who had gotten burnt out on Statham’s recent movies, was a fan. “Statham is legitimately terrific in it, finally getting an awesome, memorable hero to play for perhaps the first time since he stopped playing The Transporter,” he wrote. “This could be his Rambo.“
Are you looking forward to The Beekeeper 2?
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