Following the success of The Beekeeper, Jason Statham and David Ayer are all set to reunite in another action thriller titled Levon’s Trade. The duo will also be joined by the electrifying Sylvester Stallone, who will pen the screenplay. The team-up is massive and will be based on the work of renowned comic book writer Chuck Dixon.
While Jason Statham recently worked with David Ayer in The Beekeeper, he was spotted with Sylvester Stallone in the fourth part of The Expendables. Although Expend4bles was a gigantic disaster at the box office, the fans have high hopes for their upcoming collaboration in the action thriller flick.
What do we know about Jason Statham’s upcoming film?
As reported by Deadline, Jason Statham’s forthcoming film, directed by David Ayer and written by Sylvester Stallone, will be produced by Black Bear and BlockFilm. The plot of Levon’s Trade will be based on comic-book writer Chuck Dixon’s first novel in the Levon Cade series.
The plot is centered around Levon Cade, a construction worker who left his profession long ago and wanted to live a simple life. However, he is embroiled in a massive conspiracy when he is forced to return to the dark world of black ops when his boss’ daughter goes missing. From the looks of it, the project is expected to be a high-octane action thriller.
Sylvester Stallone has proven to be an impressive screenplay writer in the past, and there will be high expectations from this project as well. The report adds that Amazon MGM Studios owns the U.S. theatrical rights, and Prime Video holds the streaming rights for the film.
Can Levon’s Trade start a new action franchise?
Chuck Dixon’s Levon Cade series has 11 titles. It suggests that the upcoming film can start a brand-new action franchise. Last time, when we spotted Jason Statham in Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables 4, the film proved to be a massive box office bomb. With Stallone admitting to not returning for another Expendables flick, it can be stated that the franchise is dead.
With Levon’s Cade series holding so much potential, it can turn into a notable action thriller franchise on the lines of Jason Bourne or John Wick. Additionally, David Ayer’s expertise in making crime-thriller films can prove vital in turning the book series into a successful IP.
It is also to be noted that numerous reasons were involved in the failure of Expend4bles. Much of the old cast was missing, and the new faces that were brought proved to be weaker additions. All these factors, combined led to the unfortunate demise of Sylvester Stallone’s iconic action franchise. It will be interesting if Stallone, as a screenwriter, can successfully turn Levon Cade into a memorable action franchise.
Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham have previously collaborated in The Expendables films and Homefront. The success of Levon’s Trade might also give the Fast & Furious actor another prominent IP to work on.