Remember the film Layer Cake? Of course you do, it was that excellent British crime thriller which helped to launch the careers of both Matthew Vaughn and Daniel Craig. Well, it seems as if a sequel is being put into production and Jason Statham is eyeing the lead role. Along with his producing partner Steve Chasman, the actor hopes to star in Viva La Madness, which is author J.J. Connolly’s follow-up to the aforementioned Layer Cake, which he also penned.
The film will follow the same nameless protagonist that Craig played in the first film. Finished with his life of crime, he looks to retire onto a beach but instead gets himself involved in “trans-Atlantic drug deals, money laundering, high-tech electronic fraud, London lowlifes and Venezuelan drug cartels.”
You can check out the full synopsis below:
J. J. Connolly, the favorite voice of London gangster fiction, returns with a tour de force: the Get Carter of the noughties, Layer Cake has also been made into a highly-praised film by Matthew Vaughn, starring Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller (it’s also the most shoplifted book in England). Now Connolly is back with a sequel that sees him on the same stunning form, with his trademark razor-sharp dialogue and quick-fire violence, but also finding dark humor and pathos in the lives of violent men. From the London underworld, Viva la Madness moves to international crime with trans-Atlantic drug deals, money laundering, and high-tech electronic fraud, portrayed with the same uncanny believability. The anonymous hero of Layer Cake is pulled back into the drug game before he can escape to a sunny retirement. In a dazzling combination of London low-life, Caribbean high-life, and Venezuelan drug cartels toting machine-guns in Mayfair, our hero’s voice and mission are authentic, thrilling, and whiplash-inducing in equal shares.
Apparently, the idea is that this anti-hero from Layer Cake will turn into a James Bond/Jack Ryan type protagonist, where different actors will be able to play the same character and presumably, stretch the whole thing out into a franchise.
I actually really enjoyed Layer Cake quite a bit, and though Statham is no Daniel Craig, this role seems well suited for him and it should be a good fit. It’s no secret that the actor plays the same character over and over again but he’s good at what he does and the protagonist in this series is exactly the type of role that people love seeing Statham in. He has a proven track record with these types of films as well and with a talented director behind the camera, this could be another worthy British crime thriller.
Tell us, were you a fan of Layer Cake and if so, are you looking forward to Viva La Madness?
