No one can ever accuse Jason Statham of phoning it in. He may not make the best films in the world, but the guy has to stay in crazy good shape. With the announcement from Cannes that three more films in Luc Besson’s Transporter series are in the works, there’s a high likelihood that Statham will remain in good shape for several years to come.
Luc Besson’s production company EuropaCorp plans to co-produce numbers 4, 5, and 6 in the Transporter franchise, along with the Chinese company Fundamental Films. This means that at least one of the films will likely be shot in China. The films are budgeted between $30 and $40 million.
There’s no news yet if Jason Statham will carry on his lead role as Frank Martin, the badass in the dark suit who delivers packages with no questions asked. The actor has been doing his franchise thing elsewhere though as he’ll be back in The Expendables 3, and will have a role in Fast & Furious 7. Recently, he also got all sexy with Jennifer Lopez in Parker. Does he really need a Transporter 4, 5, and 6?
Truth be told, why not? Statham will not go down as a brilliant actor, but what he does, he does very well and seems to enjoy doing it too. The Transporter films are among the more enjoyable and surprising action franchises out there. Well-made, with an interesting protagonist in Statham and an edge of more European action elegance than your typical Hollywood ‘things that go bang’ action flicks. I also never argue with an opportunity to watch Jason Statham strip down, as he did in Transporter 3.
In any case, we’ll be seeing more Transporter films in the near future, with or without that beautiful bald man. If Statham does not return, I will be equally excited to see who they get to replace him.
