Action icon Jason Statham will reunite with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Wrath of Man director Guy Ritchie for a crime thriller sort-of-sequel that’s been in the works for years. This will mark the pair’s sixth time working together following the likes of Snatch, Revolver, and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.
The project bringing them back together has been in the works for years and will be based on the novel “Viva La Madness” by J.J. Connolly which acts as a sequel to “Layer Cake,” which itself was turned into an acclaimed crime thriller outing led by Daniel Craig back in 2004. However, while the movie, which is described by Variety as an action thriller, will be based on the follow-up, the report states that the adaptation “is being billed as a stand-alone, original feature and not a sequel, spin-off or continuation of any previous adaptation of Connolly’s work.”
The action thriller outing will be produced by Statham for Punch Palace Productions and Gangs of London’s Thomas Benski through Lumina Studios, alongside Toff Guy Films. Black Bear is also on board the production, with the studio expected to distribute the movie in the United States. Viva La Madness will start production in January 2026, with Statham currently the only cast member attached, and with Ritchie on board to write and direct.
A follow-up to Layer Cake with Statham and Ritchie has been in development for more than a decade at this point, and while the project is being described as standalone, we can no doubt glean some clues from the book’s synopsis, which you can check out below…
“The plot of Viva la Madness goes international, with trans-Atlantic drug deals, money laundering and high-tech electronic fraud, described with the same uncanny believability. The anonymous hero of Layer Cake is pulled back into the drug game before he can enjoy a sunny retirement. From living the high-life in the Caribbean to a dangerous existence in London, with Venezuelan drug cartels toting machine-guns in Mayfair, the story moves from violence and farce to criminal insanity.”
‘Viva La Madness’ Marks the Latest Action Thriller Project for Jason Statham in 2026
Viva La Madness marks the latest exciting project for Jason Statham, who is going to have a busy 2026. First up is Shelter from Angel Has Fallen director Ric Roman Waugh. Set for release on January 30, 2026, Shelter sees the popular action star taking the lead as a recluse living on a remote Scottish island who, after rescuing a girl, unleashes a perilous sequence of events that culminate in an attack on his home, compelling him to face his turbulent history.
Next on the agenda is the action thriller Mutiny, which finds Statham on the run after being accused of murdering his billionaire industrialist boss. Directed by Plane’s Jean-François Richet, Mutiny is now set for release on August 21, 2026. But it’s not over, with Statham also now filming his return as the mysterious assassin Adam Clay for The Beekeeper 2 from Nobody 2 director Timo Tjahjanto, which is also expected to land next year.
- Birthdate
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July 26, 1967
- Birthplace
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London, England, UK
